


You Make My Life Colorful

by Aranee, justafei



Category: EXO (Band), SHINee, SuperM (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Begging, Bottom Byun Baekhyun, Bottom Kim Jongin | Kai, Byun Baekhyun-centric, Coming of Age, Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Side Couple Relationship, Eventual Smut, First Kiss, First Time, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Free Skate (Figure Skating), Happy Ending, Injury, Injury Recovery, M/M, Magical Tattoos, Major Character Injury, Making Love, Mention of Mark Lee (NCT), Minor Choi Minho/Kim Kibum | Key, Minor Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Minseok | Xiumin, Minor Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Zhang Yi Xing | Lay, Minor Oh Sehun/Bell Pepper, New Year's Eve, New Year's Kiss, New Years, No Angst, Physical hurt/comfort, Semi-Public Sex, Serious Injuries, Slow Build, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Top Kim Jongdae | Chen, Top Lee Taemin, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:00:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 36,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28240545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aranee/pseuds/Aranee, https://archiveofourown.org/users/justafei/pseuds/justafei
Summary: On his 18th birthday, an outline of ice skates appears as tattoo on Baekhun's wrist, representing the essence of his soulmate. Thinking it would be easy to find his other half by pursuing the sport, he decides to take up learning figure skating. Boy, does he not know what's going to hit him.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Kim Jongdae | Chen, Kim Jongin | Kai/Lee Taemin, Minor EXO Side Couples
Comments: 5
Kudos: 76
Collections: EXO on Ice Round 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for EXO On Ice Fest, prompt EOIALIZA.
> 
> The prompter loves TaeKai as well, so there is an extra dose of it added to this little story as a plus =).
> 
> Jongdae won't enter this story right away, but don't fret, he will appear at just the right moment!
> 
> Thank you for clicking on this story, I hope you enjoy ^_^ Please check out all the other wonderful stories that have been submitted to this fest! All the author's have worked hard this holiday season <3
> 
> For this fic, please enable creator's style, as there is a work skin used! :) Enjoy~

Baekhyun stares cluelessly at the black and gray ice skates on his feet with an increasing feeling of incompetency growing in his chest. The limp laces trail onto the rubber floor of the ice rink like pairs of thin snakes, just waiting to trip some poor passerby because Baekhyun cannot, for the life of him, figure out how to tie these things correctly. The concept looks pretty simple, but criss-crossing shoelaces around the chipped golden hooks and tying a nice little bunny ear knot at the top is turning out to be beyond the scope of Baekhyun's abilities. 

The ice rink is crowded and noisy on a Saturday afternoon, with people awkwardly making their way on stiff legs out onto the ice surface, where they are just as clumsy and gangly. None as inept as Baekhyun though, apparently. At least everyone can tie their skates. Baekhyun cranes his neck to try and look out at the rink, but there’s no one in the middle doing spectacular jumps or spins, nobody showing off and zooming around the rink faster than the rest of the crowd, nobody that his soulmate tattoo might refer to. 

Baekhyun glances down at it; an outline of an ice skate on his inner wrist. The ink had turned from purple to black a few days ago, a phenomena that had Baekhyun racing downstairs to excitedly show his parents before writing the date down in his journal. He had radiated happiness for the entire day. Somewhere out there in the vast world, a tattoo that represents Baekhyun would have appeared on a special someone’s inner wrist as they turned 18. Now, it’s up to them two to follow fate’s tricky footsteps and meet each other. So here Baekhyun is, stuck on the bench until he can finally tie his skates, out on a mission to run into a pretty boy (at least, he hopes it’s a pretty boy) that will have the butterflies in his stomach doing big, fancy ice skating jumps and his heart falling head over heels every time he looks at his soulmate. 

Baekhyun hates the cold, he’s practically allergic to physical activity, and he has the coordination of a newborn kitten, but these are all minor obstacles. For a pretty boy, he would do anything. Oh, how nice it will be to have someone who will play PUBG and League of Legends with him all day, eat unreasonable amounts of chocolate-covered pretzels with him, and take 12-hour naps together with. Baekhyun is completely sold on the soulmate thing, just like every other person in the world is. Unfortunately, fate is not making this very easy for him. 

Baekhyun’s ankles wobble every time he so much as tries to push himself off of the bench, and his upper body flops wildly as he staggers towards the entrance of the rink, like those tall inflatable balloons outside of car dealerships. Then the cold hits him, and Baekhyun grumbles in protest. Why is he doing this again? Baekhyun glances down at his wrist. Oh, right. Pretty boy. Soulmate. A flicker of excitement sparks in his chest at the thought of meeting them, maybe even today. It’s a feeling that hasn’t really left him ever since his 18th birthday. 

~

_ “Are you excited?” Jongin asks Baekhyun as the clock above the fireplace chimes eleven o’clock. “Only one more hour!” The dancer is curled up on the other side of the couch with his soulmate, intertwined so tightly that Baekhyun can’t even tell where one person ends and the other begins. Then again, he and Taemin have been like that since they were kids; it was only inevitable that they would end up together. What a lucky pair.  _

_ “I wonder what it will be,” Baekhyun murmurs, glancing down at his still bare wrist for the millionth time that night.  _

_ “Maybe it’ll be another gamer,” Jongin speculates, combing his fingers through Taemin’s sleek black hair and giving him head pats. The elder nuzzles him affectionately. Baekhyun’s heart melts looking at the two of them. Soon, he’ll also be like that with the person of his dreams.  _

_ “That would be so cool,” Baekhyun nods eagerly. “A video game controller tattoo or something.” _

_ “Do you think it’s anybody that you know?” his mother asks as she walks into the room with two bowls of freshly washed and cut strawberries. She gives one to her son, dropping a kiss on the top of his head as she does so, then passes the other one to the two dancers.  _

_ “Maybe…” Baekhyun thinks of all his friends and classmates at school, but there’s nobody that stands out in particular. “Maybe I’ll realize they’re the one when I get the tattoo.”  _

_ “Thanks, Mrs. Byun.” Jongin accepts the bowl of strawberries, then pokes a piece of fruit between Taemin’s lips. “Here, Taemi-diamond.” His eyes are soft as he gazes at Taemin adoringly.  _

_ “I want what you two have,” Baekhyun whines, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around his legs. _

_ “You will, Baekkie!” Taemin reassures him immediately after he swallows his strawberry. “You’ll have someone really, really special.”  _

_ “What if I don’t find my soulmate?” Baekhyun’s heart pounds with worry just thinking of it. “Some people never do.”  _

_ “Baekhyun!” his mother scolds immediately. “Don’t say these things on inking night.”  _

_ “Sorry, sorry.” Baekhyun rubs his wrist gently.  _

_ “That’s really rare anyway,” Jongin soothes. “Of course you’ll find them, Baek.”  _

_ “I’m so nervous,” Baekhyun murmurs.  _

_ “Trust fate, Baekhyun,” his father says gently. “You and your soulmate are destined for each other. You’ve grown into a handsome, bright young man. I’m sure that whoever they are, you two will be perfect together.”  _

_ “That’s right,” Baekhyun’s mother agrees. “My Baekhyunnie is all grown up now, ready to find his one and only.”  _

_ “Thirty more minutes.” Baekhyun’s palms are sweaty with anticipation, and his head swims with visions of all the ways he and his soulmate will meet. Maybe they’ll bump into each other on the street, and their tattoos will be colored in at the same time. Maybe they’ll tap Baekhyun on the shoulder in a crowded mall, and shyly show him their wrist.  _

_ “You two are so lucky,” Baekhyun sighs wistfully, looking at his two best friends, who agreed to be with him on this special night. “You found each other right from the start. Searching is the hardest part, and you skipped right over it.” He remembers when Taemin turned 18, having been invited over along with Jongin for the ritual. The ink was purple when it appeared, and Jongin’s face was pale with worry as he watched the tattoo form on his boyfriend’s wrist. But as soon as the purple lines emerged, the design also flooded with color, while Taemin gasped at the pain of being ‘tattooed’.  _

_ “It’s you,” Taemin had whispered to Jongin as soon as the brown teddy bear appeared. “My teddy bear.” The purple lines under the color remained starkly visible, a sight that filled Baekhyun and everyone else with disgust, but the relief and tears sparkling in the corner of Jongin’s eyes, and the way Taemin looked at his newly confirmed soulmate with infinite love, washed all those thoughts away. Taemin wasn’t a predator; hadn’t gone searching for his soulmate while they were still underage. Jongin was the love of his life right from the start.  _

_ “Baek!” Taemin extricates his arm from around Jongin’s waist and shakes Baekhyun’s shoulder. “You’re not dozing off, are you?”  _

_ “Huh? No!” Baekhyun jumps and his gaze shoots straight to the clock. “Oh, fuck. Five more minutes…” The atmosphere is both tense and excited as the clock’s hands creep slowly towards 12. When it starts chiming, Baekhyun’s hands are shaking as he turns his wrist over. His parents, Taemin, and Jongin all crowd in excitedly to watch purple lines appear on his inner wrist. So his soulmate is still underage. That’s okay. Baekhyun’s heart flips at the thought of having a cute younger love to coddle and take care of.  _

_ “It’s an ice skate,” Baekhyun says before anyone else. “Isn’t it?” He holds his wrist up to the light to view the purple better. An elegant outline of a pair of ice skates, its laces forming pretty swirly patterns around the shoes.  _

_ “Oh,” Jongin gasps, “that’s so cute!”  _

_ “Think about all the skating dates you can have,” Taemin coos. “That’s adorable, Baekkie!”  _

_ “They must be graceful and very hard-working,” his mother ruffles Baekhyun’s hair proudly. “What a beautiful tattoo, Baekhyun.”  _

_ “Make sure you wait until it turns black to go searching,” his father warns, but his voice is warm and gentle. “I wonder how much younger than you they are.” Baekhyun is silent through all of the comments, speculations, and exclamations. He cradles his wrist gently, staring at the newly formed tattoo. An ice skater. Baekhyun pictures red cheeks, blanket cuddles, and pretty snowflakes. Someone who is bright and energetic, whose presence will make the cold tolerable, whose laugh sounds like silvery sleigh bells. They must be hot, too, if they’re an athlete. Fuck, what was he worrying about?  _

_ “It’s perfect.” Baekhyun clasps his wrist to his heart while Jongin throws his arms around him.  _

_ “I’m so happy for you, Baek!” Jongin squeals. Baekhyun hugs his best friend tightly, then stands up to accept Taemin’s hug, his mother’s kiss, and his father’s handshake. “You HAVE to tell us the very minute it turns black, okay? We’ll help you search for them!”  _

_ “Yeah. Yeah, of course.” Baekhyun can’t stop staring at it, this piece of his alluring, mysterious soulmate. “I can’t wait to meet them.”  _

~

“Oh, fuck me,” Baekhyun mutters a stream of curses as he clings onto the barrier of the rink for his dear life. He’s only a few inches away from the entrance, and that is a few inches too far. He cannot function. There is no way that actual human beings can stand on this shit; never mind the dozens of people staggering past him, somewhat managing to do so. This is not how his search was supposed to go. He’s supposed to lock eyes with someone through the glass, feel time slow down as they gracefully skate past him. There’s a good reason that his soulmate is the supposed skater, _not_ him--at least, he’s pretty sure fate wouldn’t slap an ice skate on his soulmate’s wrist. Baekhyun hopes they’re ready to be disappointed if that’s the case. His legs tremble, his ankles wobble, and his arms hurt from holding onto the barrier. How is everyone _moving?_ What the fuck? Some little kid inches closer and closer to him, holding onto the wall with one hand. 

“Excuse me!” she says, and Baekhyun can only squawk in mild terror. Excuse him? HOW?

“Skate around him, darling,” her mother says. The little girl lets go of the wall fearlessly and wobbles a neat little semi-circle around him. 

“Sorry,” Baekhyun manages as the mother skates past him, too. 

“Don’t worry. Try and get your feet under you,” she suggests, looking at Baekhyun, whose skates are slowly sliding further and further apart while Baekhyun clutches onto the only stable thing on the surface. 

“Thanks.” Baekhyun tries to get one foot closer to him, but it’s as if his blades are glued to the ice. This is not okay. He’ll never find his soulmate at this rate. From his precarious position, Baekhyun scans the rink frantically, trying to find anyone who is attractive and far, far more coordinated at this than he is, but there’s only that little girl that skated past him earlier, now doing small jumps in the middle. Baekhyun gawks for a while. Two years old, and already miles ahead of him in talent and coordination. How supremely impressive. Baekhyun watches as she tumbles onto the cold ice, then simply picks herself back up and wipes the snow off of her pants. Her courage makes him a little reckless. If a two-year old can figure it out, he can do it, too. After all, he’s got the power of love and unlimited chocolate pretzel nights on his side. Baekhyun leans against the wall and somehow manages, with a lot of banging and clawing at glass, to get himself back to standing position. Ding! An imaginary message probably pops up above his avatar’s head, if he were in one of his video games.  _ Mission accomplished: Stand up.  _ Ding!  _ New mission: Just Fucking Move, Idiot.  _ Baekhyun slowly lets go of the wall, one hand at a time, and shakes his aching arms out. Shit. He tries to slide one foot in front of him, but then the other skate shoots back, and Baekhyun screeches as his elbow hits the wall and his legs fly out from under him in opposite directions. He lands with a thump on his ass onto the cold, snowy ice while people swerve wildly to avoid running over his fingers. In the middle, the little girl scrambles to her feet for the second time. At the barrier, Baekhyun gets one blade set on the ice, tries to push himself up, and realizes that he can’t. There is no physical way that it is possible to keep his balance on a skate. 

“What the fuck,” Baekhyun grunts helplessly. There’s sweat running down his back inside of his jacket, and every part of him, except for his numb hands, feels hot with embarrassment and panic. Everything that could possibly go wrong is going disastrous. The only thing that he has found so far is that he cannot skate, and that two-year olds these days have him beat. 

“Do you need help?” someone asks, and Baekhyun looks up. Is this it? Is this his moment? Baekhyun’s first instinct is to glance at his wrist, but there’s no telltale pinch of his tattoo being filled with color, and the person that had asked is the attendant wearing hockey skates and endlessly circling the rink, looking as if he would rather be doing anything else than supervising a public skate session on a Saturday afternoon. Baekhyun knows, without a doubt, that this is not his forever love. However, he could potentially prove useful for his current predicament.

“Help would be great.” Baekhyun extends his right hand--not his soulmate's wrist, that’s rude--and the guy also double checks that there’s no tattoo before grabbing Baekhyun’s hand and attempting to help him off the ice. 

“Oh, shit,” Baekhyun curses as his feet slide in front of him when he stands up. The attendant attempts to hold him up, but Baekhyun is an 18-year old teenage guy with no coordination system, and one wrist that is now very off limits. Having anyone but your soulmate touch your tattoo is a no-no. Big taboo, just like searching for your soulmate while the ink is still purple. 

“Ummm…” The attendant looks around. “Yo!” He waves to the other skate attendant, a girl who also triggers no sense of fate in Baekhyun. “Help me out.” 

“Sure thing.” She maneuvers herself between the wall and Baekhyun, gets her arms under his armpits, and hauls him upwards as the other skate attendant yanks him to stand on his own. “Are you trying to get off or stay on?”  _ What the fuck does it look like?  _ Baekhyun wants to ask self-deprecatingly.  _ Does it look like I can stand without the help of a 100-man army?  _

“I’m going to call it a day.” Baekhyun is disappointed, but not surprised. It’ll probably take a few more tries and some luck before he’s going to get anywhere with this. 

“Okay. Hold onto the wall, and--” She yelps as Baekhyun tries to turn around, loses his balance, and goes tumbling down onto the ice again. 

“Awww, fuck.” Baekhyun sighs as the hockey skate attendant attempts to hide his laughter while the girl pushes herself to her feet effortlessly, giving Baekhyun a sympathetic smile. This is going to take a while. 


	2. Chapter 2

~

6.

_ “Nini!” Jongin looks away from his reflection in the mirror from where he has been monitoring his jetés and spots his best friend, pulling on his ballet shoes to join him. “Mommy said we can have a playdate tomorrow!” When Taemin smiles, there’s a hole in the row of front teeth where he had lost one the other day. The two of them had crawled around on the playground until Jongin found it under one of the swings.  _

_ “Okay!” Jongin beams at his best friend. “We can play soulmates again, I got new markers.”  _

_ “Boys, let’s put our listening ears on,” their ballet instructor reminds them gently. “One, two, three, and four.” Jongin copies the movements easily, watching himself and Taemin through the mirror, mind already wandering to what tattoo Taemin will draw on him tomorrow.  _

~

Baekhyun stumbles onto the ice, arms windmilling frantically to keep himself upright. All the YouTube videos he watched while he was procrastinating his English essay sort of helped, but he’s still mostly stuck hovering two inches away from the wall with comically stiff knees, ready to be knocked over by the smallest breeze in the wrong direction. Even though his skating skills haven’t improved in the slightest, his plans only keep getting bigger and bigger. At first, Baekhyun just wanted to find his soulmate. Now, he steps onto the slab of ice once or twice every week because some ridiculous part of him decided it would be a great idea if he actually learned how to skate. After all, you can’t have a skating date if your soulmate can’t even stand. Baekhyun takes a deep breath and holds his arms out in front of him like a zombie. The YouTube video said little steps. Baekhyun takes a little step. Then another. Then another. It’s kind of working, isn’t it? Baekhyun feels hope blossoming in his chest as he keeps making incremental forward progress. He can totally do this. He can totally learn to skate and find his hot soulmate and--a teenage boy whizzes past him and Baekhyun’s arms flail in surprise just as he takes a little step, and  _ whump.  _ Down onto the cold, frozen surface he goes. 

~

13.

_ “Jongin, truth or dare?” Sehun asks him. It’s a Friday night, and their friends from school are all seated in a neat circle on the floor of Jongin’s bedroom for their first sleepover of summer break.  _

_ “Truth,” Jongin decides.  _

_ “Chicken,” Minho teases, but Jongin ignores him.  _

_ “If you had to pick one person in this room to be your soulmate, who would it be?” A chorus of oooh’s rises from everyone, and Jongin feels his cheeks redden as everyone looks at him, eager for his answer.  _

_ “Taemi,” Jongin says quietly, not quite daring to look to his right, where his best friend sits with his legs crossed neatly in front of him.  _

_ “That was a terrible question,” Baekhyun complains to Sehun. “We all knew it was going to be him.”  _

_ “Minho, truth or dare?” Jongin asks. Taemin shifts next to him, but Jongin doesn’t turn to look.  _

_ “Dare.”  _

_ “I dare you to hold a handstand for thirty seconds.”  _

_ “That’s so easy!” Minho protests, getting up in a flash. “I have to do it against the wall though.”  _

_ “Okay.” Jongin giggles with everyone else as Minho’s face slowly turns redder and redder when all the oxygen rushes to his head.  _

_ “See? Done.” Minho rolls back to his place in the circle. “Taemin, truth or dare?”  _

_ “Hmm…” Taemin hums thoughtfully. “Dare.”  _

_ “I dare you to kiss Jongin.”  _

_ “OHHHHHHH!” Baekhyun claps gleefully. “DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!”  _

_ “That’s not fair, Minho,” Sehun frowns. “What if Taemin wants his soulmate to be his first kiss?” At this, Jongin’s heart goes from frantic to very, very still. Sehun’s right. His pretty best friend probably doesn’t want to kiss him. After all, he might not even be Taemin’s soulmate. Jongin looks down and fidgets with the hem of his shirt.  _

_ “Then that’s okay, I’ll give him a different dare.” Just like everyone else in the room, Minho thinks soulmates are more important than anything.  _

_ “I’ll do it.” Taemin’s cheeks puff out when the entire room erupts into chaotic excitement. “If Nini is okay with it.” Jongin bites his lips when Taemin turns towards him with shyness glimmering in his eyes. Jongin can only nod, throat dry as Taemin scoots closer to him. Both of them are painfully awkward and inexperienced, but egged on by the screams of Sehun, Baekhyun, and Minho around them, Jongin closes his eyes and purses his lips. Taemin’s nose bumps into his, causing him to yelp, then soft lips press against his for a fraction of a second before both of them tumble away from each other. Minho pounds Taemin on the back while Sehun laughs his head off. The elder is pink and giggling when Jongin glances shyly at him, and he holds his hand out for Taemin to squeeze.  _

_ “Are we still best friends?” Jongin asks hopefully. Taemin nods emphatically.  _

_ “Of course.”  _

_ ~ _

There’s a kid skating backwards around the rink today. How is he doing that? Baekhyun gawks as he steps onto the ice and begins his Little Steps Forward. There aren’t too many people here today, but Baekhyun still looks around hopefully, trying to give everyone a glance to see if anybody will color in his tattoo. No such luck. Baekhyun is craning his head to look behind him when his Little Step becomes a Big Misstep and he trips over the jagged shit on the front of his blade. 

“Gah!” Baekhyun screeches and throws his arms in front of him to stop the fall, but that doesn’t stop the breath from being knocked out of him as he belly flops onto the ice. “UHF!” Oh fuck, he can’t breathe. Damn, his dick just got flattened. Baekhyun gurgles helplessly until he finally starts getting oxygen back into his lungs. What the fuck. Who decided to put teeth on an ice skate? Baekhyun pulls the sleeve of his jacket back to squint at the outline of his tattoo. Yep. Teeth there, too. His soulmate must be so talented, Baekhyun thinks as he scrabbles for purchase to stand back up. Probably way out of his league, too. Maybe that’s why fate is hell bent on making him look like a fucking idiot every Saturday. He has to earn his precious, gorgeous, heaven-sent soulmate. If that’s the case, Baekhyun doesn’t really mind. He hasn’t even met this pretty boy of his yet, but Baekhyun is more than happy to fall for him a million times. 

~

16.

_ Faint music can be heard echoing through the halls of the dance studio as Jongin opens his locker, shoves his school backpack into it and grabs his well-worn dance sneakers. When he pushes open the studio door, Taemin is already hard at work, sweat dripping from the tips of his hair as he moves with the sensual rhythm. Jongin watches from the side, slowly setting his water bottle down and tying his shoes, entranced by his best friend’s effortless swiveling hips and dreamy, sexy expression through the mirror. Want pools hot in his gut as Taemin’s hand moves down his chest to caress his own crotch, all the while undulating endlessly, as if he has no bones. Lee Taemin is painfully beautiful, and Kim Jongin is hopelessly in love, even though every year they spend together draws them closer and closer to becoming inked. Most days, Jongin chooses to ignore what the implications of that are, but today is a special day, one that is always bittersweet.  _

_ “Happy birthday, Taemi,” Jongin smiles and claps when the music fades away, “that was amazing.”  _

_ “Nini,” Taemin whirls around, hooded eyes and parted lips replaced by a bright smile and round cheeks in an instant. “You’re here.”  _

_ “‘Course I am.” Jongin stands up and walks towards Taemin to begin practice. “I got held up a bit by my teacher, that’s all.” He peers through strands of hair at his own reflection, monitoring his sharp movements and facial expressions. “Only two more years before you can meet your soulmate,” Jongin murmurs, feeling a knife stab through his chest at the very thought. Two more years of dancing, sleepovers, and studying. Two more years of telling each other their deepest, darkest secrets, of cuddling on the couch and watching horror movies, of doing practically everything together before Taemin will find someone else to do it with, someone that he’s destined to be with for the rest of his life. Jongin’s heart hurts so badly that he nearly stops dancing.  _

_ “You know there’s stories of people meeting their soulmate before they get inked,” Taemin says matter-of-factly, watching Jongin through the mirror.  _

_ “How?” Jongin wonders. “Your tattoo is supposed to lead you to your soulmate. And you only know it’s them if they touch it.”  _

_ “It’s just a feeling. Like the peace you supposedly get when your soulmate touches your tattoo.” Taemin wrings his hands together, as is his nervous habit. Jongin sighs.  _

_ “That’s probably really rare though. You’re supposed to rely on your tattoo to help you find your soulmate.” Jongin’s heart cracks in two as he says the next words. “You have to promise to invite me over on inking night, okay?” Taemin doesn’t answer. “Taemi?” Jongin glances up, only to be met with Taemin’s sad, guiltily hopeful puppy eyes, staring at him through the mirror. He falters at the sight.  _

_ “Nini. I think I’ve already found my soulmate.” Jongin suddenly can’t breathe as the world comes to a halt. Soulmate? Taemin has found them? Already? When? What about his precious two years? Who?  _

_ “That’s… great.” Jongin clenches his jaw to keep the tears from spilling over. “You’re so lucky, Taemi.” His best friend simply ignores him.  _

_ “I was doing some research. People who meet their soulmate before they get their tattoo are called ‘golden pairings’,” Taemin murmurs, but Jongin barely hears him. All the time he thought he still had with Taemin is gone. He will spend all his time with his soulmate now, someone who will do all the things that he and Taemin used to do together and more. The thought of someone else holding Taemin close, kissing him, touching--Jongin quickly brushes a hand over his eyes before the elder can see.  _

_ “Nini, you don’t feel it?” Taemin’s voice is nervous now, and mixed with a tinge of confusion.  _

_ “Feel what?” The gaping, empty hole in his chest? The shattered pieces of his heart?  _

_ “You don’t… feel anything when you look at me?” Taemin asks hollowly. “I thought…” Jongin looks up slowly to meet Taemin’s eyes through the mirror. Of course he feels something. He always has.  _

_ “I don’t know what it is,” Jongin says shakily, still perplexed as to where this is going.  _

_ “But you feel something,” Taemin insists. Jongin nods, a tiny jerk of his head. Taemin walks towards him slowly, and Jongin turns around.  _

_ “Taemi?” Jongin whispers, a little unsure of what’s happening when Taemin stops right in front of him.  _

_ “Let me try something,” Taemin whines softly, but all Jongin can focus on are his plush lips and flushed cheeks, red with exertion. He looks achingly pretty. Jongin wants nothing more than to find out how soft his lips are, see if they still send sparks flying through his chest just like they did three years ago at the game of truth or dare.  _

_ “Tell me what you’re thinking,” Jongin breathes out when he dares to hope. Taemin places his hands on Jongin’s waist and tilts his face upwards. Jongin’s heart goes absolutely haywire. “Tell me, Taemi, tell me,” he begs, but his words get lost in Taemin’s mouth, warm and sweet, just like the rest of him. Jongin lets out a little hiccup and kisses his best friend hard. Their technique only stems from the dramas they watch together, because neither of them have kissed anyone else, but it seems as if they’ve improved lots from when they were 13. Taemin makes Jongin’s head spin, and he tastes like heaven on his tongue. There are a million questions in Jongin’s mind, threatening to spill out at any moment, but Taemin, precious Taemin, kisses all of them away, forces Jongin to think about nothing but his lithe, capable body under his hands, his lips, which are softer than anything Jongin could imagine, and the little moans that he makes when Jongin sucks on his tongue.  _

_ “Oh,” Taemin sighs, and Jongin nearly collapses on the hardwood floor. Taemin does things to him that nobody else does. He makes him ache all over with desire and longing. How could there be anyone else for him?  _

_ “Are we still best friends?” Jongin whispers when they finally pull away from each other, trying to catch their breath.  _

_ “Nini, no,” Taemin begs. His lips are swollen and glistening pink, and his pupils are dilated with want. He is the single most beautiful sight that Jongin has ever seen. “More.” Jongin’s heart is fit to burst.  _

_ “I’m… I feel like I’m going to explode, Taemi.” He squeezes him tightly to his chest, trying his hardest not to scream and alert anyone else in the building to their interwoven presence.  _

_ “My teddy bear, my Nini bear,” Taemin clings onto him, murmuring incoherently against Jongin’s neck. “I had to tell you, I couldn’t stand it anymore.”  _

_ “I know, Taemi, me, too.” Jongin pulls back to take in Taemin’s beaming smile, his eyes soft with a look that he only ever gives Jongin. “Just come here,” Jongin holds him closer than skin, running his fingers through Taemin’s hair. “My precious diamond, shining so brightly.”  _

_ ~ _

Every inch of Baekhyun hurts. He feels like he’s been plowed over by a tractor. There are all sorts of colorful bruises on his knees, hips, and elbows when he looks at himself in the mirror, fresh purple and blue and green layered on top of fading ones. 

“How’s the soulmate search going?” his father asks at breakfast a few weeks later. 

“It’s painful,” Baekhyun replies. 

“Painful? Your tattoo is colored in?” his mother gasps and drops her spoon. 

“No. I’m bruised and sore,” Baekhyun grumbles. “Skating is no fun at all.” 

“I’m sure you’ll get better at it with practice,” his father says, pouring himself a cup of coffee. 

“It’s already been weeks. The most I can do is stagger around the barrier and fall a billion times.” Baekhyun stuffs the rest of his croissant in his mouth. 

“Well, soulmate searching is no easy task,” his mother reasons wisely. “Sometimes it’s best to leave these things up to fate.” 

“And right now, fate is telling me I need to get to the rink.” Baekhyun pushes his chair back from the table. “I’ll see you later!” 

“Good luck,” his parents chorus. 

~

17.

_ “What if it’s not me?” Jongin whispers, nestled against Taemin’s side. Next to both of them, Baekhyun scoffs.  _

_ “It has to be you, Jongin. There’s no way it’s not.”  _

_ “But what if,” Jongin insists. The back of Taemin’s left hand rests warm in his palm as the minutes tick closer and closer to Taemin’s 18th birthday.  _

_ “There’s nobody else for me,” Taemin promises, turning his head away from his wrist to kiss Jongin’s temple. “You are my soulmate.”  _

_ “One minute,” Taemin’s mother announces. Jongin’s breath comes in quick, unsure gasps as Taemin turns his attention back to his wrist. The second the clock chimes twelve, everyone leans in to watch as purple lines begin forming against the beautiful white of Taemin’s skin.  _

_ “You’re younger,” Baekhyun nudges Jongin. “What is it?”  _

_ “Ah!” Taemin winces.  _

_ “Does it hurt?” Baekhyun asks bewilderedly, looking up at Taemin’s parents.  _

_ “It’s not supposed to until you see them and it fills in--” A collective gasp goes up in the room as shades of brown and black pool in the empty space of the purple outline, forming an adorable teddy bear whose fur matches the exact same shade of brown in Jongin’s eyes.  _

_ “It’s you,” Taemin breathes, turning to meet Jongin’s watery gaze. “My teddy bear.” Jongin lets out a long, shuddery breath and squeezes his eyes shut, letting Taemin wipe away the overflowing tears of relief and love. “Didn’t I tell you it was going to be okay?” Taemin murmurs as both of them examine the tattoo. The bright lines of purple stand out against the brown ink, and the elder winces at seeing such a sight on his own skin. It will stay like this until Jongin gets his own ink next January. He had surmised as much, but that doesn’t mean people won’t assume the worst of him. The tattoo makes him look like a predator; someone who goes searching for their soulmate before they turn 18. Part of Taemin is overjoyed at finally getting his tattoo, but the other half can’t help but feel conflicted about seeing a filled-in purple outline. Jongin’s warm hand reaches out hesitantly, then stops just above Taemin’s wrist. He looks up at Taemin’s parents.  _

_ “Will it work… even if I don’t have mine?” he asks hesitantly.  _

_ “I don’t know.” Mr. Lee shakes his head. “You can try, though.”  _

_ “May I?” Jongin meets Taemin’s eyes and they share a long moment with each other.  _

_ “Of course,” Taemin whispers. Jongin takes a deep breath and grazes trembling fingertips against the purple and brown ink. The second he does, an unexplainable feeling of peace and belonging washes over Taemin, as if his very soul is being cleansed by Jongin’s presence. The sensation is ephemeral, delicate, as if Taemin is floating on gossamer strings of silk. He feels impregnable, as if nothing else matters, except that Jongin is by his side. Everyone else can say what they want about his tattoo--this is a precious piece of his Jongin. It’s the most beautiful thing that Taemin has ever seen. The younger watches with wide, worried eyes that melt into pools of tenderness when Taemin shudders and reaches out to bury his head into Jongin’s neck.  _

_ “It’s you, only you,” Taemin murmurs, feeling tears prick at the corner of his eyes. “My Nini, my teddy bear, it has to be you.”  _

_ “You’re a golden pair,” Baekhyun whispers in awe, hands pressed against his mouth in shock. “Aren’t you supposed to have a shimmering tattoo?”  _

_ “It will happen when Jongin gets his,” Taemin’s mother says proudly, smiling at her son, whose smile lights up the entire room. “Oh, you two are blessed. As soon as Jongin receives his, you’ll have to file as soulmates at the governor’s office. I’m sure that you two will get a large, beautiful apartment, since golden pairings are so rare.”  _

_ “Do you know anyone else who’s a golden pairing?” Baekhyun asks Taemin’s parents.  _

_ “A friend of mine from high school knows someone who is,” Taemin’s father supplies. “But they’re extremely rare. Jongin and Taemin are very special.” _

_ ~ _

Baekhyun is getting a lot better at tying his skates. Turns out he’s not completely incompetent. He ties a neat little bow at the top, then stands up and walks clumsily over to the side of the rink to do his customary slow survey of the ice. The few skaters in the middle don’t trigger anything though, so Baekhyun sighs. Looks like it’s just going to be another sad day of falling. As he slowly shuffles around the perimeter of the rink, occasionally sprawling at the most inconvenient of times, he finds himself wondering how he could possibly run into his soulmate. The tattoo has been black for a month and a half now, and Baekhyun is still as single as can be. If they’re supposedly a skater, then Baekhyun is baffled as to how he hasn’t run into them yet. He’s stopped by the rink all seven days of the week whenever he can, sometimes skipping extracurriculars to do so. His elbow lands hard on the ice, and Baekhyun winces in pain as he falls right on top of all his healing bruises. At this rate, he’ll just be purple and blue and single for the rest of his life. Slowly, Baekhyun pushes himself to his feet, only to stumble backwards and land on his tailbone five minutes later. 

“You okay?” Someone asks as they pass by. Baekhyun just sighs heavily and nods.

~

18.

_ “What do you want your tattoo to be?” Taemin muses, head in Jongin’s lap on his inking night.  _

_ “Anything,” Jongin decides. “As long as it’s you.”  _

_ “What if you get a giant steak?” Taemin giggles while Jongin plays with his hair and sneaks glances at his wrist.  _

_ “Then I’ll feed you steak every day for the rest of our lives,” Jongin declares, reaching out to brush his thumb against Taemin’s tattoo. The elder sighs and snuggles closer to Jongin.  _

_ “You two are so cute,” Baekhyun coos. “Now I can tell everyone I’ve been to a golden pairing’s inking night.”  _

_ “Are we invited to yours?” Taemin cranes his head to look at Baekhyun.  _

_ “Of course! I wish I could get it now,” Baekhyun sighs.  _

_ “You only have one more year,” Jongin says thoughtfully. “Yours will be really special, too, Baekhyunnie.”  _

_ “Not as special as yours. I want to see how the tattoo looks when it turns gold.”  _

_ “Only a few more minutes.” Jongin tugs Taemin upright and places his wrist next to the older’s. “We can watch your outline turn black and mine appear,” Jongin offers. Taemin brushes lips against his soulmate’s cheek. Finally, the ugly purple outline will disappear and he’ll have a complete tattoo, one that corresponds with Jongin’s. He can stop covering it up out of fear of being stigmatized, and proudly show the world his precious, golden teddy bear. The clock’s hands hit twelve o’clock. Jongin’s parents, along with Baekhyun, all lean in excitedly as black lines begin criss-crossing over Jongin’s wrist.  _

_ “It’s a diamond,” Taemin says before anyone else. Jongin gasps at the realization. “Isn’t it?”  _

_ “My shining diamond,” Jongin murmurs, then clenches his hands into fists when the color starts seeping into the outline.  _

_ “Oh, it’s so pretty.” Baekhyun’s voice is awed. “Pearl aqua.” The last corner of Jongin’s tattoo fills with color just as the purple lines on Taemin’s wrist turn solid black. Carefully, Jongin holds his wrist up to the light.  _

_ “Taemi!” Jongin lets out a cry of happy surprise. Flecks of gold shimmer through the blue ink, and the entire tattoo seems to glow subtly, even without direct light hitting it. “Taemi, let me see yours.” Taemin’s teddy bear also shimmers bright gold, as if someone has glazed over the skin with glitter.  _

_ “These are gorgeous!” Baekhyun claps his hands in delight. “So pretty.”  _

_ “Let me see?” Jongin’s mother requests. “Oh, Jongin…” She buries her son in a tight hug, then reaches out for Taemin, too. “They’re beautiful. You two are perfect for each other.”  _

_ “Come here,” Taemin reaches out for Jongin’s wrist. “Look at me.” Jongin locks eyes with Taemin just as the elder lays his palm over the newly inked diamond. Taemin has told him a million times about how it feels to have Jongin touch his tattoo, and Jongin has held Taemin in his arms every time he does so, but nothing could prepare him for the wave of contentment that washes over his entire being. Taemin seems to glow in his field of vision, radiating safety, comfort, warmth. Jongin buries himself in the elder’s chest, a happy sigh spilling from his lips.  _

_ “I told you it was nice,” Taemin murmurs, patting Jongin’s back while Baekhyun pretends to die from cuteness overload. “My precious teddy bear.”  _

_ Taemin shrieks with laughter as Jongin picks him up and spins him around their huge, brand new government-issued apartment, complete with sleek, comfortable furniture and a stunning view of the city skyline outside of the ceiling-to-floor windows.  _

_ “Welcome home, Taemi-diamond,” Jongin murmurs, setting Taemin back on his feet and nudging his nose out of the way so he can kiss him. Outside, the last oranges and purples of the sunset dip down below the jagged line of skyscrapers so that the city lights of buildings, neon signs, and cars far beneath them are the only sources of illumination that filter into the darkened apartment as Jongin bites at Taemin’s lips and kisses him feverishly.  _

_ “Nini,” Taemin whimpers, pressing close to him and threading his fingers into Jongin’s hair. Every inch of him feels like it’s being pulled towards his soulmate. He aches to touch Jongin, to trace his hands across every inch of beautiful, tan skin available to him. His best friend, the boy that constantly haunts his dreams, his perfect other half is so irresistible that Taemin wants to sob.  _

_ “Taemi,” Jongin whispers when he pulls away, swiping a thumb against Taemin’s pillow-soft, kiss-swollen lips. “Taemi-diamond, so beautiful, my love.” The elder presses his mouth against Jongin’s neck and suckles at all the sensitive spots that he has already memorized from the hundreds of times that they have fooled around.  _

_ “I’ve never done this before,” Taemin admits shyly as they waltz around each other’s feet to their luxurious bedroom, still clinging onto waists and shoulders and hips.  _

_ “Me, neither,” Jongin confesses before they both lapse into nervous giggles. Of course they haven’t slept with each other or anyone else. Taemin’s hair fans out in a beautiful halo around his face when Jongin lowers him onto silk sheets and fluffy pillows, then slots his lips between Taemin’s gently. The younger’s hands tremble with nervousness, and as they kiss, he can feel Taemin shaking underneath him as well, whether it be from longing or apprehension. Jongin fumbles for Taemin’s hand, and slides his fingers down to stroke the teddy bear on the inside of his wrist. Instantly, all the tension in the boy dissipates. His kisses become sloppy and needy, even as he tries to find Jongin’s tattoo. The second his small hands grasp Jongin’s wrist, the younger stops trembling, and the butterflies in his stomach settle to be replaced by peace. This is Taemin; the boy who likes soft kisses during horror movies, being fed bites of yummy food, and taking naps in Jongin’s lap. This is Jongin’s better half. No matter how much they mess this up, it’ll still never be wrong.  _

_ First times are messy, clumsy, and a little rushed. Jongin cries out in ecstasy when Taemin presses his lips to the diamond on Jongin’s wrist, then lets out uncontrollable moans when his soulmate, the mischievous tease that he is, laps wet, soft strokes over Jongin’s tattoo with his tongue. The elder massages gently over the bulge in Jongin’s jeans, whispering words of love and adoration that Jongin only barely catches as he clutches the sheets in his hands.  _

_ “I want you so bad,” Jongin sobs when Taemin pulls his shirt over his chest, thin, lithe silhouette glowing against the backdrop of the skyline. “Taemi, my diamond, please, please,” Jongin reaches out for Taemin’s hand and kisses the center of his palm, then his teddy bear. Taemin arches up in pleasure, then collapses onto the bed into Jongin’s waiting arms. They keep up a constant grind against each other, frotting against too many layers of clothing, ragged moans spilling from their lips and into each other’s mouths.  _

_ “Off, please,” Jongin begs, fingertips already dipping past the waistband of Taemin’s pants. “Taemi…”  _

_ “Nini.” Taemin’s lips are everywhere, leaving sparks and saliva across Jongin’s bare chest, hands smoothing down to trace Jongin’s abs that ripple with each heavy breath. “How are you real?” Taemin asks breathlessly.  _

_ “Don’t ask me that right now, love,” Jongin giggles as Taemin sits back to undress himself. “I’m gonna go crazy,” Jongin whispers when his precious soulmate slowly tugs the remainder of his clothing off of him as well.  _

_ “I’ll fix you,” Taemin promises cutely, even though the end of the sentence is punctuated with a soft moan when their erections brush together. Jongin pulls him close and pushes his hips up against Taemin’s, leaving sloppy kisses on the elder’s mouth whenever he can. He tenses up once more when Taemin’s fingers slide into him some minutes later, but with every slow curl of his digits, Taemin also brushes his thumb past Jongin’s tattoo, over and over again until Jongin mewls and desperately pulls Taemin down into his arms.  _

_ “My teddy bear,” Taemin coos, kissing Jongin’s wickedly sharp jawline. He gasps and whines when Jongin wraps a firm hand around his erection and pulls upward slowly. The dim light seeping through the apartment gives Jongin just enough vision to watch Taemin’s expression, but there’s none of that sensual, dangerous aura that hangs around him whenever he dances or performs on stage. Instead, his soulmate pants restlessly, soft and sweet and open as Jongin’s tongue flicks across his wrist and his hand strokes Taemin’s length. Jongin’s heart flutters frantically as Taemin places all his trust in him, showing Jongin his most intimate, vulnerable side. _

_ “Nini, please let me,” Taemin hiccups when Jongin kisses his tattoo again. “Ahhh, Nini…” Taemin’s moans are exquisite, back arching up and off the bed when Jongin presses his thumb into the wet slit at the tip of his cock.  _

_ “Baby tummy,” Jongin murmurs lovingly, rubbing Taemin’s flat, soft belly with his free hand. “You’re so beautiful.”  _

_ “Lemme fuck you,” Taemin whimpers, and Jongin shudders at the need in Taemin’s voice.  _

_ “Fuck.” Jongin stares up at Taemin’s flushed face, thin strands of raven black hair falling into his eyes as he braces himself over Jongin and grips his cock. “Go gentle, Taemi,” Jongin whispers, suddenly scared again. Taemin taps his diamond lightly before pressing into him, forcing a long, satisfied moan from Jongin’s lips. They fit together perfectly; Jongin’s hands resting on the dainty curve of Taemin’s waist, the elder swiveling his hips in small circles and figure eights, already sighing at the sensation. For a minute, Taemin simply watches Jongin, drinking in his blissed out expression, delivering tiny thrusts to watch his lips part in pleasure. Then Jongin traces his hand up Taemin’s bare chest, down one slender arm, and caresses his tattoo. Taemin jerks and gasps before his arms give out and he comes crashing down into Jongin’s chest.  _

_ “Precious diamond,” Jongin murmurs, scratching lightly against Taemin’s scalp while the elder presses their cheeks together, then their lips. Taemin props himself on his elbows and begins thrusting fluidly in and out of Jongin, using all those years of dance training to make Jongin sigh and tremble and sob. It doesn’t take very long for either of them to come, holding each other as tightly as possible even after the haze of pleasure clears away. Taemin nuzzles himself into the crook of Jongin’s neck, breathing in the scent of his musk, feeling sweat dry on his skin. Neither of them say anything for a long, long time, opting instead to feel their heartbeats beat in perfect synchronization with each other, savoring the blissful, happy glow of being together. Jongin’s breathing slowly evens out, then becomes soft on Taemin’s bare shoulder as he falls asleep, clutching tightly onto his soulmate even in his dreams. Clumsily, the elder pulls the heavy, warm covers over both of their bodies and rests his palm against Jongin’s wrist, so that his precious Nini will wake up peaceful and relaxed. Right before Taemin closes his eyes, he whispers three words into Jongin’s soft, fluffy hair. _

_ “I love you.”  _

_ ~ _

“Hey, lovebirds!” Baekhyun’s voice is muffled as he knocks on the apartment door. “Are you fucking? Open the door!” 

“Baek!” Jongin shrieks, leaping out of Taemin’s arms to unlock the door while the elder giggles at Baekhyun’s announcement of his arrival. “What’d you get on the test yesterday?” 

“Like a C, I didn’t study.” Baekhyun toes his shoes off by the door and gets dragged into the spacious apartment by an excited Jongin. “Fuck, I always forget how nice your place is. Do you have food? I forgot to eat lunch.” 

“We have leftover Chinese takeout,” Taemin suggests, getting up from the couch and leaving the movie playing in the background. 

“Oh, so you have the good shit.” Baekhyun nods approvingly. “Imagine getting assigned a gorgeous kitchen and having no idea how to use it, though.”

“Taemi almost burned the whole place down yesterday,” Jongin tells Baekhyun as they sit down at the kitchen table. 

“I knew they were making a mistake when they took one look at your tattoos and decided you two had your shit together,” Baekhyun teases, accepting the plate of orange chicken, jasmine rice, and vegetable stir fry from Taemin. “I mean, how could they shove two 19-year old kids in a borderline penthouse apartment and think that was a good idea?” 

“If they shoved you in a borderline penthouse apartment, I don’t think you would complain either,” Jongin returns cheekily. “How’s the soulmate search going?” 

“That’s what I’m here for,” Baekhyun mumbles. Taemin and Jongin let out excited yells, but Baekhyun hushes them both by extending his wrist briefly to show the black outline, not yet colored in. 

“Awww, Baek,” Jongin sighs and pats his hand. “It’s okay.” 

“I know,” Baekhyun shovels more rice into his mouth, “I’m not mad. I get that it takes a while, ya’know?” Both Jongin and Taemin nod. “Oh, don’t agree with me, you two have no clue what I’m talking about.” Baekhyun bursts into laughter as Jongin and Taemin both pout in embarrassment. 

“Everyone meets their soulmate at different times, though,” Taemin fidgets in Jongin’s lap. The younger rubs his tattoo soothingly. “Not everyone finds them immediately.”

“Yeah, so like, it’s fine if I haven’t met them yet.  _ But,”  _ Baekhyun stresses the exception, “I’m extremely pressed that I literally did not inherit a coordination system from my parents.” 

“Huh?” Jongin’s brows furrow together. 

“It’s been two months, and all I have learned how to do is take Little Steps Forward. I can’t do anything.” Baekhyun stabs a piece of chicken with his chopsticks. “I have this YouTube playlist of skills that I’m supposed to get through, right? It’s been two fucking months, and I’m only on video number three.” 

“You can’t skate?” Taemin asks. 

“I’m not exaggerating. I literally suck at it, even though everyone tells me I’m going to get better with practice. There’s this little girl that shows up every fucking Saturday, and when I first saw her, she was doing these tiny jumps. Now? She’s spinning.” Baekhyun draws fast circles in the air to demonstrate his point. 

“Tour en l'air?” Taemin questions. 

“What the fuck is that?” Baekhyun blinks at him cluelessly. “Never mind. The point is, I figured since skating and dance are kinda similar, you two could give me some tips.” The apartment falls completely silent for two seconds, then Jongin drags Baekhyun out of his chair and pushes him into a wide open space. “MY LUNCH--” 

“Shoulders back,” Jongin instructs. 

“Keep your head up,” Taemin flicks his finger under Baekhyun’s chin. 

“Back straight--” 

“Turn your feet out--” 

“Relax your arms--” 

“Keep your butt tucked in--” 

“Balance--” 

“I feel like this isn’t helping,” Baekhyun mutters as the two dancers twist and prod him into the shape they want. 

“The concept is there,” Taemin backs away, admiring his handiwork. “Yes, I like it.” He waves an airy, artistic hand towards Baekhyun. “You would probably stay balanced like this.” Jongin wraps his arms around Taemin’s waist from behind him and rests his chin on his soulmate’s shoulder. “You have to find your center of gravity.” 

“And how do I do that?” 

“It’s just a feeling. Eventually it’ll become muscle memory. See, I think…” Taemin goes off on a tangent about something circumstantially related to the topic at hand, complete with mathematical equations that he recites from memory. Baekhyun’s mouth becomes more and more slack as Jongin grows more and more fond. 

“What?” Baekhyun asks once Taemin finishes. Jongin kisses Taemin’s cheek. 

“So smart, diamond,” he coos. 

“You understood that?” Baekhyun gives Jongin a doubtful side-eye. 

“If you stab a stick through the top of your head, you gotta stay balanced on either side, otherwise you’ll fall.” Jongin gives him the practical version. 

“Uh… huh.” 

“Maybe when you skate, you need to keep yourself straighter.” 

“Maybe.” Baekhyun sits back down at the dining table, chewing thoughtfully while Jongin twirls Taemin around in an impromptu dance. 

“When are you going back to the rink?” Jongin asks, lacing his fingers with his soulmate’s. 

“Right after this. I stopped by for skating tips.” Baekhyun finishes off the plate, then stands up to toss it in the trash can. “How do you open this thing?” 

“Just wave your hand on the side,” Taemin calls, giggling when Jongin spins him out of his grip, then pulls him back in. 

“Next thing you know, I’m going to put some glitter on my tattoo when I find my soulmate and get myself a fancy trash can, too.” Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “I’m going to head out, the next session starts in twenty minutes.” 

“See you in class tomorrow, Baekkie!” Jongin finally breaks away from Taemin. “Good luck with skating, let us know how it goes.” 

“Yep, I’ll text you. Taemin, could you send me the answers to the homework?” 

“Oh, okay.” Taemin beams. “No problem. Have fun!” 

The rink is extremely crowded today when Baekhyun trudges into the building and collects a pair of rental skates from the attendant at the counter. They’re drawing closer to the holiday season, which means that more people are looking for fun winter activities. People pass by him in streams and clusters of groups as Baekhyun clings onto the wall and slowly gets on. He stands up straight, pulls his shoulders back, and keeps his head up, just like his two dancer friends had suggested, and it seems to work for a while. 

Baekhyun makes slow laps around the rink, scanning everyone in the crowded building, hoping to spot a soulmate, but just like every other day, there’s no telltale pinch of his wrist, no glorious moment when he spots a super cute boy on the other side of the glass. Just groups of friends, clinging onto each other and laughing hysterically, or parents who are bravely circling behind their children. Baekhyun sighs and slowly lowers his arms as he skates. At least today, he’s made a little progress. Now he doesn’t have to look like a petrified zombie, ambling forward with his arms in front of him at all times. This would probably be really fun with his soulmate, Baekhyun supposes. Holding each other’s hands, slowly circling around the rink, getting to know each other. Assuming his soulmate really is a skater, Baekhyun could get pulled along by them, giggling while they teased him about his terrible skating skills. If it was his soulmate, he’d just go right along with it. Taemin and Jongin always look so happy with each other. Baekhyun wonders if he’ll be the same with his one and only. 

He’s so busy daydreaming about all the scenarios in his head that on his next step, Baekhyun forgets to actually pick up his foot. The teeth on the front of his blade catch the ice and send him pitching forward. Baekhyun reaches out to stop his fall, but since his hands are by his sides and not in front of him, he doesn’t throw his hands out fast enough. There’s a loud ‘crack’ that scares him to death, then agonizing pain shoots up his arm and Baekhyun promptly grips his wrist in distress. There’s someone telling him that he needs to get up, but even the slightest movement jostles his wrist and sends sharp, stabbing sensations up his arm. 

“It’s broken,” Baekhyun gasps to the skate attendant. He’s sure of it. “Fuck.” 


	3. Chapter 3

“Baekhyun!” Jongin’s distressed wail is what alerts him to his best friend’s presence. “Oh, Baek,” Jongin’s eyes are dull and gloomy when he bursts through the doors of Baekhyun’s hospital ward, Taemin right on his heels. Baekhyun smiles at the sight of friendly faces, then winces as he tries to breath. “Not again…” 

“Hey,” Baekhyun speaks softly, so that he doesn’t move around too much. “Thanks for dropping by.” 

“Ah, Baekhyun,” Taemin reprimands him gently, “how many times have you broken something now?” Baekhyun blinks a few times as he thinks about it. His wrist had been a year ago, that was his first… then his arm, knee, ankle… 

“I think this is lucky number 7,” Baekhyun tries to laugh, and then inhales sharply in pain. “Ow. Ow, ow.” 

“Baek, you can’t even breathe properly.” Jongin seems more distressed than he is. “You have to stop hurting yourself! You’re going to be a bandaged mess by the time you actually find your soulmate…” 

“Jongin, chill,” Baekhyun consoles. “It’s not like this is your first time visiting me in the hospital.” 

“I don’t want to visit you in the fucking hospital anymore!” Jongin pouts at Baekhyun, sitting upright in the bed. “Baek, please take care of yourself!” 

“Hey, I didn’t ask for brittle bones and a nonexistent coordination system,” Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “I don’t even know how I keep breaking myself.” 

“Nini bear,” Taemin pulls Jongin to his side as he opens his mouth to tell Baekhyun off out of love and worry. “Don’t yell at him right now, he still hurts, okay?” He reaches for Jongin’s wrist and rubs his tattoo gently. Instantly, all the tension drains from Jongin. 

“Thanks, Taem,” Baekhyun breathes as evenly as he can. “Can’t win a fight against him on an ordinary day, let alone with some crushed bones.” Taemin opens his mouth to reply, but then there’s a knock on the door, and Doctor Son walks into the room, zeroing in on Baekhyun, then Taemin and Jongin. 

“Hello there,” he smiles cordially at the couple. “Hi, Baekhyun, welcome back.” 

“Don’t make me laugh, doc,” Baekhyun warns. “I’m in pain right now.” 

“As you always are whenever I see you. Which part of you is crushed now?” The doctor gives Baekhyun a wry but patient smile. 

“I’ve evolved from breaking wrists to breaking ribs,” Baekhyun announces faintly. 

“Maybe you could evolve from trying skating to quitting it,” Doctor Son suggests, but he’s already ordering an X-ray for Baekhyun. “Does it hurt to breathe?” 

“Yep.” 

“Ribs heal faster than wrists,” Taemin pitches into the conversation from where he and Jongin are standing against the wall. 

“Correct.” Doctor Son nods in approval. 

“How do you even break a rib while skating?” Jongin grumbles under his breath. 

“I fell on it,” Baekhyun says flatly. 

“What were your arms doing?!” Jongin insists.

“Pushing a kid out of the way!” 

“Oh, at least he’s compassionate,” Jongin mumbles, looking thoroughly disgruntled. Taemin strokes his inner wrist a few more times. 

“You’re so cute when you’re being sarcastic,” he whispers. 

“Sarcasm, my ass. I don’t even understand how you could possibly fall this much,” Jongin says to Baekhyun, but with less agitation. “Nobody else hurts themselves as much as you when they’re skating. Seriously, Baek, how do you even break seven bones in one year?” 

“Well, where fate is involved…” Baekhyun rolls his eyes. 

“You’d be surprised,” Doctor Son says absently to Jongin. “Alright, Baekhyun, I’m going to pass you on to our X-ray technicians, and then I’ll be back with you after they take a look. You two, look after him please, and do your best to convince him not to step foot in an ice rink again, all right?” 

“We’re trying, doctor,” Jongin assures him. 

“Blame the soulmate.” Baekhyun grins. 

Recovery is slow and bothersome, just like it always is, but Taemin was right when he said broken ribs healed faster than broken wrists. Baekhyun does everything unhurried, plays a ridiculous amount of video games, and laments over lost time that could be used to find his soulmate. 

“Maybe the reason you’re not getting any better at skating is because you spend months healing injuries,” Jongin suggests some weeks later. Baekhyun’s over at their apartment, chest free of tape, feeling pretty much back to normal. “It’s kind of hard to improve when you take two month breaks every couple of weeks.” 

“Well, I’m getting back on over the weekend.” Baekhyun shrugs, reaching out for his soda on the coffee table. Jongin’s head whips around to face him while Taemin’s eyes bug out of his head. 

“WHAT?!” 

“No, Baek, not a good idea,” Taemin pouts, and Jongin is not the only one who is affected by those puppy eyes. 

“Don’t make him upset,” Jongin begs Baekhyun, reaching to brush Taemin’s hair back from his eyes and letting go of his hand to touch his teddy bear. Taemin relaxes into Jongin’s arms.

“Don’t worry about me,” Baekhyun shrugs. “I’ll take care of myself.” 

“Baek, why are you so insistent on skating? You keep getting injured, and you hate the cold…” Jongin frets, leaning against Taemin’s shoulder. “We’re always worried for you. There are other ways to find your soulmate.” 

“It’s not just because of them.” Baekhyun sighs and glances at his blank tattoo outline, devoid of any color, even after a painful year of broken bones. “I want to learn how to skate. Falling is inevitable.” 

“Falling, yes, but getting hurt to this extent? That’s not okay, Baek,” Taemin tells him lowly. “You don’t need to prove anything to yourself.” 

“It’s okay. I like having something to concentrate on.” 

“You like breaking all the bones in your body at least once, one by one?” Jongin wrinkles his nose worriedly. 

“I’ll be careful, okay? Besides, if I hang around the rink more often, I’m bound to bump into them at some point.” Baekhyun fidgets with the hem of his sweater. The couple sitting on the far side of the couch is silent for some minutes before Jongin speaks up. 

“Is it fun?” 

“Is what fun?” Baekhyun looks at them. 

“Skating.” 

“I mean, kinda.” Baekhyun shrugs. “I suck at it, but yeah, I like it.” 

“We could go with you,” Jongin suggests. “Make sure that you at least have someone nearby if you get hurt.” 

“It will be fun with all three of us,” Taemin adds. 

“You mean you two and me third-wheeling,” Baekhyun corrects. 

“Yes! Exactly! We’ll come with you on Saturday,” Jongin beams. “It’s been foreverrrr since we’ve gone on a date anyway.” 

“Don’t you have fun with me already?” Taemin pokes Jongin’s cheek petulantly. 

“I DO, Taemi, I always have fun with you,” Jongin turns towards him instantly and cups his face in his hands. He looks at Taemin like the elder holds the entire universe in his eyes. “But let’s go out for a change, do something new?” 

“You two are so disgusting, it’s adorable.” Baekhyun’s heart throbs with envy. “Some people really get it easy.” 

“Noooo, Baek, don’t be sad.” Jongin is out of Taemin’s arms and hugging his friend in an instant. “Take us skating, we can all go together. We said we would help you search for your soulmate, anyway.” 

“Do you want to go?” Baekhyun looks around Jongin’s shoulder at Taemin. 

“My teddy bear wants to go, so I want to go.” As soon as the words are out of Taemin’s mouth, Jongin scampers back to him, peppering kisses across Taemin’s round cheeks and squeezing him tightly. Baekhyun chuckles at Jongin, rushing all over the place to spread love and affection. He’s always had such a big heart. 

“Alright, Saturday it is.” 

“You have to be careful when you step on,” Baekhyun calls, bracing himself with the barrier and carefully setting foot onto the slippery surface. It’s disconcerting, especially after several weeks of being off the ice. “And don’t lean back--” 

“AHHHH!” Taemin wobbles past him, delirious with giggles. He stumbles around, makes a sloppy little circle, and turns back to hold his arms out for Jongin. “Wahhh, it’s so weird,” his eyes are curled up into half-moon crescents and he can’t stop laughing. 

“Told’ya it was strange.” Baekhyun’s face lights up into a smile when Jongin glides helplessly towards his soulmate and straight past him. 

“I can’t stop!” Jongin’s shriek is accompanied by a shout of non-stop laughter. 

“Come back!” Taemin chases after him while Baekhyun slowly follows both of them. When he finally catches up, the two have their arms wrapped tightly around each other and are slowly turning in little circles. 

“How are you doing that?” Baekhyun gawks. 

“It’s like pirouettes,” Jongin giggles into Taemin’s shoulder. “Wow, you were right, Baek. This is fun!” 

“I’ve been doing this for well over a year,” Baekhyun pouts. Damn dancers and their inhuman coordination. 

“To be fair, we’ve been dancing for way longer than you’ve been skating,” Jongin points out. Baekhyun just grumbles under his breath while Taemin clutches Jongin’s hand tightly. 

“Do you think your soulmate is here today?” Taemin inquires. Baekhyun shakes his head. 

“I looked around the whole rink already. Nothing.” 

“It’s so strange,” Taemin remarks while Jongin giggles excitedly. Baekhyun skates close to the barrier clumsily next to both of them. “Why haven’t you run into them already? You’re here all the time.” 

“Exactly!” Baekhyun sighs. “I don’t know where else I would find them if not the rink.” 

“Taemi, push me, I want to go backwards,” Jongin asks, and Taemin carefully grips both of Jongin’s hands in his before resuming skating next to Baekhyun, who is slack-jawed with disbelief. “Wheeee!” 

“HOW are you--” Baekhyun throws his hands in the air helplessly. Taemin laughs at the expression of pure joy on Jongin’s face. 

“Are you having fun?” Taemin coos. Jongin nods excitedly, squealing as his hair whips around his face. “My teddy bear,” Taemin’s eyes soften with love. “You look so cute.” 

“Baek!” Jongin calls, letting his soulmate bump gently against his chest as he uses the jagged line on the front of his blades to slow to a stop. “Take us next time, too?” 

“You…” Baekhyun pants as he catches up to both of them. “Skate… too… fast…” 

“This is fun,” Jongin laughs breathlessly, cheeks red from the wind, eyes sparkling with happiness. 

“I told you…” Baekhyun clutches at the stitch in his chest. “I suck at skating.” 

“So we’ll come hang out with you!” Jongin jumps up and down on his toes excitedly, clutching onto Taemin’s shoulders for support. “It probably gets boring, skating around on your own.” 

“Kind of,” Baekhyun admits. He can’t really deny Jongin’s wide puppy eyes or Taemin’s beaming smile, even though both of them are always somewhat lost in their own private bubble. They’re the most innocent, loving pair of people that Baekhyun has ever met. “I’ll let you know whenever I skate.” 

“Nini,” Taemin tugs on Jongin’s jacket sleeve after the session is over. Baekhyun is still completely intact, even if his fingers are kind of frozen. It’s nice to have friends around to catch him if he falls. Jongin turns to look at his soulmate questioningly. “I want hot chocolate.” 

“Ooh!” Baekhyun claps his hands excitedly. “Yes! I know a good place.” 

“Hot chocolate it is,” Jongin agrees immediately. The two of them banter playfully on the short walk into the small store while Baekhyun trails behind the couple, feeling a little like a parent with his hands full. 

“Alright, children,” Baekhyun teases, pulling the door open to the cafe. “In you go.” The three of them order their drinks, then sit by the window, where cold December sunlight streams in through the window. Baekhyun blows on the steaming hot drink, taking small delicate sips and looking wistfully out at the street while Jongin coos over Taemin’s small hands and warms them up between his own. Bundled in scarves and coats, people rush up and down the sidewalk, arms weighed down by bags of Christmas gifts. Baekhyun counts the soulmate pairs that pass by the shop, looking happy and content. There are arms tucked into crooks of elbows, into the other person’s coat pocket, or hands clasped together tightly. Baekhyun wishes he had someone by his side. He heaves a small sigh and cups his face in his hands. 

“Baekhyunnie,” Jongin calls, and Baekhyun startles suddenly. “Why do you look so sad?” Jongin’s eyes dim when he spots Baekhyun’s placid expression. 

“Aw, it’s nothing.” Baekhyun brushes it away. “Just your usual holiday loneliness.” 

“Noooo,” Taemin and Jongin both chorus at the same time. “You can spend the holidays with us,” Jongin offers immediately. “We can invite some friends over and have a party.” 

“It’s fine,” Baekhyun reassures him. “I’m just…” he waves a hand in the air frustratedly. “Wondering why I haven’t found them yet. You two look so happy together all the time. I wish I had that.” 

“We could stop looking happy,” Jongin says anxiously. Taemin silently scoots away from his soulmate, and Baekhyun bursts into helpless laughter. 

“It’s not you two, but I appreciate the effort.” Taemin doesn’t move back to Jongin, but Baekhyun isn’t worried. They gravitate towards each other like magnets. “I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong,” Baekhyun frowns and pulls his sleeve up to examine his tattoo. “I feel like I peek into the rink pretty much every day, even when I don’t skate.” 

“Can I see it?” Taemin asks, motioning towards Baekhyun’s wrist. Baekhyun extends it out to the elder, who is careful to not actually touch the ink as he examines it. “Hmm… maybe you could branch out to other disciplines.” Jongin gasps, then flings his arms around Taemin. So much for not looking happy.

“Taemi-diamond, you’re so smart!” Jongin gives him affectionate head pats. 

“You should try going to hockey games,” Taemin continues speaking to Baekhyun. “Or go find speed skating events.” 

“But I think this is a figure skate,” Baekhyun withdraws his arm from across the table and brings it close to his eyes to squint at it. “It’s got the sharp little picks in the front of the blade. Google says that it’s a figure skate.” 

“Soulmate tattoos are kind of tricky though,” Taemin points out. “They’re not always super direct, are they?” 

“I guess.” Baekhyun reaches for his hot chocolate. “It’s worth a shot.” 

“You could also go to figure skating competitions,” Jongin suggests. “Oh, imagine watching them skate their routine and then feeling your tattoo color in!” He squeals at the idea. “That’s so cute! Way cuter than sitting next to Taemi on a couch and hoping that it’ll be me--” He catches sight of Taemin’s pouting lips and immediately reaches for his wrist. “Oh, no, love, I was just  _ joking.  _ Taemi, I didn’t mean it. You’re not mad at me, are you?” Jongin begs, then shrieks when Taemin tickles him playfully and steals his hot chocolate. 

“Oh…” Baekhyun drops his head into his hands. “You two are more hopeless than me.” After a few minutes, he sighs and looks back up. “So do you guys want to come along?” 


	4. Chapter 4

The rink stadium is absolutely packed with people, every single one of them avid hockey enthusiasts who wave banners and flags and stuffed animal mascots. 

“Woahhh,” Jongin’s eyes are wide and he clutches tightly to Taemin’s hand as they follow Baekhyun to their seats. “Baek, you’ll have no trouble finding your soulmate here.” 

“If they’re here,” Baekhyun mutters. “This is so messy. How am I supposed to know who it is even if my tattoo colors in?” 

“Their tattoo would probably color in at some point, too, right?” Taemin points out. “I mean, that’s what the soulmate area is for..” The three of them glance up to a little section of the arena, roped off so soulmates can find each other easily, should they happen to catch each other’s eye in passing.

“Hopefully.” Baekhyun takes a seat and scans the hockey players on the ice, all dressed in bulky uniforms and protective equipment, speeding around the rink. None of them set off his tattoo, so Baekhyun looks away. The game doesn’t matter at all to him. The crowd roars their excitement and shakes the bleachers as they stomp and cheer, but Baekhyun is frantically looking around himself, trying to keep lingering eye contact with everyone in the arena for at least a few seconds to see if his tattoo will fill in. Jongin leans into Taemin’s arm wrapped around his shoulder, giggling to each other while they try to keep track of the flying hockey puck on the ice. At some point, Baekhyun decides that it’s too difficult to see everyone if he keeps sitting down, so he stands up to scan the highest seats in the arena. Nobody pays him any attention; they’re all too focused on the game. 

“Seen anyone, Baek?” Jongin looks up at him. Baekhyun shakes his head distractedly. 

“I don’t think they’re here.” 

“I didn’t even know we had speed skating competitions,” Baekhyun remarks to Taemin a few months later. 

“I had to search to find this one. Do you think your soulmate will be here?” 

“Maybe,” Baekhyun shrugs. “Should we stand or sit in the bleachers?” 

“Whatever is easier for you to look for people. Where’s Nini?” Taemin asks suddenly, stopping in his tracks and looking around the small crowd. Baekhyun halts his footsteps and turns around slowly. 

“Oh, fuck me,” Baekhyun whispers under his breath before everything goes to pieces. 

“Nini!” Taemin’s voice pitches high with a worried whine. He looks ready to slam the crowd aside to find his soulmate, but Baekhyun grabs him by the collar of his vest and hauls him back to his side. 

“Nuh uh. Stay right next to me,” Baekhyun instructs, digging around for his phone. “You can just  _ call  _ him, Taemin, you know--Taemin?” Baekhyun whirls around to find that he’s holding an empty vest. “Oh, for FUCK’S SAKE.” 

“Baek!” Someone comes flying towards him and throws their arms around him, whimpering and shaking. “Baek, I can’t find Taemi!” Baekhyun shoves Taemin’s vest into Jongin’s chest and pulls up Taemin’s contact. 

“Fucking soulmates,” Baekhyun growls tiredly as Jongin clings onto him and Taemin’s vest worriedly. Love really does make you lose brain cells, he decides. Maybe he’s better off single for another while. “Taemin, please come back,” he says patiently when the elder picks up. 

“Did you find him?” Taemin’s voice is edged with panic. 

“Yes, yes, he’s clinging onto me like I’m you right now--” the line goes dead. “Yah,” Baekhyun says frustratedly to Jongin, “am I the younger or the older one out of us three?” 

“Where’s Taemi?” Jongin asks him helplessly. “I lost him.” 

“I can  _ see  _ that.” Baekhyun scans the open-air arena for his friend and potential soulmates. 

“Teddy bear,” Taemin calls when he finally finds his way back to Baekhyun. Jongin collapses into his arms, limp with relief while Taemin strokes his tattoo comfortingly. 

“Don’t let go of my hand again,” Jongin scolds Taemin, sliding his soulmate’s vest back onto him. “I thought I lost you!” 

“Thank you for finding him, Baekkie,” Taemin squeezes the air right out of him just as Baekhyun is standing on his tiptoes, scanning the crowd up against the barriers of the outdoor rink. 

“No problem,” Baekhyun murmurs absently, patting both of them on the shoulder. “Absolute idiots.” 

“What’d you say?” Jongin looks over while Taemin adjusts his scarf for him. 

“You’re the cutest.” 

“AWWW!” Both of them giggle and blush. “Come on Baek, let’s look for your soulmate.” Jongin loops his free arm through Baekhyun’s elbow. “You deserve the best person ever.” 

“Someone very caring,” Taemin says thoughtfully. 

“Someone that’s exactly Baekhyunnie’s type!” Jongin agrees.

“I have a type?” Baekhyun asks in surprise, now staring at the speed skaters sprinting around the donut-shaped sheet of ice. 

“Yes! You like cute, cuddly boys.” 

“I do,” Baekhyun concedes. His friends know him so well. 

“Let’s find our Baekhyunnie a cute, cuddly boy,” Jongin singsongs. “Let’s find our Baekhyunnie his pretty soulmate.” 

“This is much better than actually skating,” Baekhyun says to Jongin and Taemin, who are curled up under a blanket together. The skater on the ice does something that would crush every rib and break every bone in Baekhyun’s body if he had tried. 

“I think this is a safer option for you.” Jongin looks at Baekhyun contentedly. “At least you aren’t breaking any bones.” 

“But I don’t feel like I’m any closer to finding my soulmate,” Baekhyun complains. “We’ve been to hockey tournaments, speed skating events, and now this,” Baekhyun waves his hand to the local figure skating competition that Taemin had found with a simple Google search, “but I’m still uncolored.” 

“There’s a whole day of competitions,” Taemin says, brushing his thumb back and forth across Jongin’s tattoo until he’s limp and pliant with contentment. “We have to be patient.” 

“Patient,” Jongin agrees drowsily, burrowing into Taemin’s warmth. “Happy with you.” 

“I know, teddy bear.” Taemin rubs his fingers across the diamond, and Jongin purrs. Baekhyun glances at the two of them. 

“It really feels that nice?” 

“I can’t explain it.” Taemin sifts his fingers through Jongin’s hair. “When he touches my ink, it’s like I don’t need anything except him.” 

“That’s so cute.” Baekhyun sighs and rearranges the blanket around himself. “Fucking adorable.” 

“I hope you’ll find them today.” 

“I’m going back to the rink,” Baekhyun announces to Jongin and Taemin over lunch in the university courtyard the week after the skating competition. 

Jongin’s spoon drops with a clatter on the tray. “Why?” 

Baekhyun holds up his black outline in response. “Gotta keep searching.” 

“Do you want us to come with you?” Taemin asks, but Jongin shifts uncomfortably. “Nini? You don’t want to go anymore?” 

“I want to go skating again, but I have a big test coming up that I need to study for.” Jongin bites his lip apologetically. 

“Then study for your test,” Baekhyun says immediately. “I really appreciate you guys keeping me company at all those events.” 

“We can keep trying,” Taemin promises. “They’re bound to show up somewhere.” 

“Yeah,” Baekhyun sighs. “Hope so.” 

“Baekhyun,” Doctor Son scolds when he opens the door and sees Baekhyun sitting in the hospital bed, gritting his teeth in pain. “You have to stop visiting me. I’m not your soulmate.” 

“Yeah, I already ruled you out,” Baekhyun winces. 

“What happened this time?” 

“Went skating… fell funny. It’s--” 

“Probably broken,” patient and doctor finish the sentence together. “Well, you know the drill.” Baekhyun nods. He sighs as they take an X-ray, grimaces when his leg gets set in the right position, and patiently sits still while it gets casted. 

“Seriously?” is Jongin’s first word when he and Taemin arrive at the hospital late at night to pick him up. “We just can’t leave you on your own, can we?” Baekhyun extends a weary pinky finger and links it with Jongin’s. 

“You two are just bound to me, baby. God, I hate breaking my lower body,” Baekhyun groans. “Crutches hurt even worse than a broken leg.” 

“It’s your birthday week, too,” Taemin frets, holding the hospital crutches out to Baekhyun while Jongin collects all his belongings. 

“Happy birthday to me,” Baekhyun says weakly. “Thanks for everything, doc.” Doctor Son just sighs and holds the door open.

“See you soon, Baekhyun.” 

“Baekhyun,” there’s a knock on his door a few days later. “Your friends are here to see you,” his mother calls. 

“Huh? Oh, come in, then.” He blinks in surprise as Jongin and Taemin peek in through the door. “Hey. Weren’t you two going on a date after class?” 

“Happy birthday!” Jongin crows excitedly. “We wanted to see you!” 

“Out of obligation or love?” Baekhyun jokes, even though he’s happy to see them. 

“We brought cake,” Taemin adds. 

“And presents!” 

“You guys are the best.” Baekhyun beams, shutting off the TV in his room as Taemin places a small, fancy cake on the edge of his nightstand. “Thank you, Taem.”

“Here.” Jongin disappears out of his room for a second before he comes back with a set of very fancy-looking forearm crutches. “We got these for you.” Baekhyun’s jaw drops open as Jongin beams at him proudly. “You keep complaining about those hospital-issued crutches, and you keep insisting on breaking your bones. These will last you a long time!” 

“We custom-ordered them from Spain,” Taemin adds. “Spain makes really good crutches.” Baekhyun blinks at him in shock. 

“They’re exactly your height.” Jongin holds them out. “Do you want to try them?”

“Uh…” Baekhyun clears his throat. “S-sure?” He pushes himself off his bed and takes his present. “Oh, wow. WAIT.” Baekhyun walks around his room a little. The crutches are light and efficient, so much better than the clunky, impractical hospital crutches. The hand grips are soft and comfortable to the touch; there’s also no annoying clicking of the tips as he takes steps forward, since the crutches were custom made for his height. “Wait, these are amazing!” 

“You like them?” Jongin jumps up and down excitedly. 

“Yeah. Holy shit, these are fantastic.” Baekhyun tips them against the wall and sits down on the bed, then holds his arms out. “Thanks for thinking of me, you two.” He pats two self-satisfied heads. “Love you to pieces.” 

“Today’s your 20th birthday,” Jongin murmurs, sticking two glittery candles into the cake while Taemin fumbles with the lighter. “I hope you can find your special someone this year, Baekkie.” He holds the cake out to the birthday boy. “Make a wish!” Baekhyun closes his eyes and makes the same wish that he has for the past two years. 

_ Please let me find my soulmate.  _

-Five years later-

It’s a perfect September afternoon. Rays of sunlight shine through the autumn foliage as it begins to set in the west, and a mild breeze blows shades of red, orange, and yellow leaves off of the trees to land in crisp piles along the paved pathway in the park. Baekhyun takes his time on his crutch-assisted walk, staying towards the side so that people can hurry past him. 

The park is always busy during rush hour, whether it be families taking post-dinner excursions, or people like Baekhyun, who just want a bit of fresh air after a long day at the office. His thoughts are filled with the article that he has to finish by tomorrow afternoon. Whenever he breaks another bone, it always slows his work down, especially since he has to travel to different rinks to get his stories for the magazine. 

A smile peeks from the corner of his lips as he looks down and catches sight of his crutches. Taemin and Jongin had such good foresight when they gave these to him all those years ago. He hasn’t stopped breaking himself, but at least well-made crutches have made his life bearable. The wind ruffles his hair and blows it into his eyes as Baekhyun inches onto the green grass and stops to take in the pretty view of the lake, admiring the waterfowl that swim in the little waves. He takes a minute to adjust the crutch cuffs, which have shifted slightly down. He’ll have to replace the rubber tips soon, since he’s on his crutches so much. 

Baekhyun’s still not much better at skating, and his latest accident--a broken ankle--was the result of attempting to glide backwards without knowing how to turn forwards. His upper body twisted, his lower body didn’t. Baekhyun winces at the phantom pain as he stares out at the lake, now sparkling gold because of the sunlight on the ripples of water. Just like golden pair tattoos, Baekhyun thinks. His is still empty and bare, a stubborn black outline. He hasn’t given up yet, but it’s discouraging, especially when the wrists of his friends and colleagues have slowly filled in with vibrant colors over the years. 

Baekhyun bites his lip before turning to set foot back on the pathway, lifting his face to get the wind to push his hair out of his face. As he does, he catches sight of clusters of indiscriminate people around the crowded park. Baekhyun’s eyes flicker away to gaze at the bright blue sky just as he feels a pinch on his wrist. 


	5. Chapter 5

“Teddy bear, I’m home,” Taemin murmurs softly as he takes his shoes off at the entrance, but Jongin has already heard the door open and close. 

“Taemi-diamond,” Jongin greets him with a squeeze around his middle and pouting lips, searching for a kiss. “How was work today?” 

“Not good,” Taemin presses his lips to Jongin’s and ruffles his soulmate’s hair absently. “Didn’t get the results I expected…” 

“What are you working on?” Jongin asks softly, brushing his thumb across Taemin’s tattoo. The neuroscientist sighs and melts into Jongin’s embrace, but he still murmurs an answer.

“I’m trying to prove that inhibitory neurotransmission drives endocannabinoid degradation to promote memory consolidation,” he mumbles sadly. Jongin blinks a few times and opts for stroking Taemin’s hair softly as a response. “I think rapid chemical degradation processes should control the temporal profile of neuromodulator action…” Taemin keeps on muttering to himself as Jongin drops affectionate kisses in his hair and rubs his back soothingly. “So I’m confused,” Taemin finishes frustratedly. 

“I’m sorry.” Jongin brings his arm up and presses his lips to Taemin’s tattoo. “I hope you figure it out, love.” 

“Cholinesterase inhibitors prolong the actions of acetylcholine,” Taemin insists. 

“Mhm,” Jongin agrees blindly. Taemin sighs. 

“What about you? How was work?” he asks. Jongin thinks for a moment. 

“I taught the kids how to sing the alphabet today.” 

“Cute,” Taemin mumbles, looking adoringly at his gentle soulmate. 

“We talked about words that start with ‘D’ and drew pictures.” Jongin smiles happily at the thought of his little kids at the preschool he teaches at. “I drew a diamond.” 

“Love you.” Taemin reaches for the one inked on Jongin’s wrist. 

“What would you have drawn?” Jongin asks, dipping back in for another kiss. 

“Mmmh…” Taemin thinks for a moment. “Diacylglycerol lipase.” Jongin bursts into bubbly laughter and kisses the tip of his soulmate’s nose. He starts to say something, but there’s a frantic banging at the door. 

“Jongin! Taemin!” Baekhyun sounds panicked and desperate. 

“Baek?!” Jongin releases Taemin and rushes to the door. Baekhyun stands on the other side with wind-blown hair, staring helplessly at Jongin with wide, lost eyes. “Baek, what happened?” Jongin asks urgently, standing aside so Baekhyun can enter the apartment. “Careful! Taemi, help him--” Taemin is already leading Baekhyun to sit down on the couch. 

“What’s wrong?” Taemin asks, sitting down next to him and taking his crutches to prop them up against the couch. In response, Baekhyun jerks his jacket sleeve up and shows his friends a colored-in pair of figure skates. Taemin drops the crutches with a clatter. Jongin screams. 

“YOU FOUND THEM?!” Jongin claps his hands to his mouth. “WHO?!” 

“I DIDN’T!” Baekhyun sounds on the verge of tears. “I--I was--was in the park and s-staring at the sky and then I felt a pinch--” 

“The PARK?” 

“And I was trying to find who it was but there were so many people, and I couldn’t run because of my fucking ankle,” Baekhyun heaves panicked gulps of air. “I looked so h-hard, but n-nobody approached me and I--I don’t know--” 

“Baek!” Jongin wails in distress. He throws his arms around his friend, and Baekhyun dissolves into heartbroken sobbing on his shoulder. “Oh no, Baekhyunnie…” Jongin wipes his own tears away and rubs Baekhyun’s back soothingly. 

“I was s-so close,” Baekhyun chokes out while Jongin reaches for the box of tissues on the coffee table. “And now, I’m going to have to explain that I don’t… don’t know who…” 

“Do you want ice cream?” Taemin asks all of a sudden, and Baekhyun nods sadly. 

“I messed up, Jongin,” he whispers while Taemin pads off to the kitchen to get dessert and spoons. 

“No, you didn’t, Baek,” Jongin pulls back and bites the inside of his cheek as he wipes Baekhyun’s tears away. “It’s not your fault, sweetheart. You’re hurt right now, you couldn’t possibly have found them.” Both of them look down at the filled-in, unclaimed tattoo on his wrist. “Taemi will help you cover it up,” Jongin murmurs, stroking Baekhyun’s cheek gently. “He knows how to do it because he hid his for a long time when I was still underage. Nobody has to know until we find them, okay?” 

“I’m not gonna be able to find them,” Baekhyun sniffles. 

“Which one?” Taemin holds out two different flavors. The younger sadly points to chocolate chip cookie dough. “Ice cream is good,” Taemin says quietly, opening up the other pint. “You can eat until you’re not sad anymore, Baekkie.” 

“Taemi, can you show him how to cover it up?” Jongin asks as the oldest joins them on the couch. Taemin nods and pokes a spoonful of chocolate in between Jongin’s lips. 

“It’s easy. We’ll make sure nobody asks any questions,” Taemin promises. 

“At least you know they’re around this area,” Jongin points out optimistically. “Maybe they’ll visit the park again since they felt the pinch as well.” 

“I don’t know what to do,” Baekhyun mumbles around a mouthful of ice cream. “It’s been seven years, Jongin. Now all I have to go off of is the park.” 

“No no, this is a good thing, Baek,” Taemin pats his back. “You’ve confirmed so many unknown variables. Your soulmate is close by. We just have to work through this methodically.” Taemin jumps up from the couch and shoves the ice cream into Jongin’s hand. “I’ll be back.” Baekhyun and his soulmate watch in confusion as he disappears around the corner, then returns a few minutes later, lugging a whiteboard in his hands. Baekhyun nearly drops his spoon. 

“Where did you get that?” he asks through residual tears.

“Is that from your study?” Jongin asks interestedly. “How did you get that off the wall?” 

“It’s just hooked on. Now--” Taemin looks around frantically for an eraser. Jongin hands him a tissue. 

“Wait--” Baekhyun tries to stop him as he wipes two day’s worth of theories and mathematical derivations off of the board. “That--that could be important for your work.” 

“Oh, it’s okay.” Taemin beams at him reassuringly. “I have it all memorized, don’t worry.” 

“What,” Baekhyun says flatly. 

“See, if your soulmate was at the park during rush hour, then this probably wasn’t very far out from wherever they happen to work. Let’s just safely assume that your soulmate’s commute is 26.6 minutes, which would put us at about, let’s say a 40-50 mile radius of the park. Now we should probably take into consideration pre-existing factors; your tattoo is a figure skate. The existence of that implies we should still be looking at ice rinks. If your soulmate is 25, like you, then they probably work 5-6 days a week and we can assume 8-hour workdays with negligible percent error. This rules out all the time they have to spend at the rink. We should look into the schedules for all rinks within a 50 mile radius….” Taemin rambles on and on while the ice cream slowly disappears into Baekhyun’s stomach. “We can start next week when you get cleared by the doctor to walk again!” He’s met by vaguely impressed silence. Baekhyun’s lower lip starts to tremble once more. “Baek,” Taemin’s voice turns soft just as the younger’s face crumples. “Oh no, darling, it’s okay… we don’t have to search if you don’t want to,” Taemin sits back down on the couch and gently enfolds Baekhyun in his embrace. “We can just sit on the couch and cry and eat ice cream for now.” Baekhyun nods furiously into Taemin’s shirt while Jongin rubs his back comfortingly. “Yeah? Yeah. Let’s do that.” 

A few weeks later, when Baekhyun is back on his two feet and feeling up for a challenge, Taemin whisks him and a perpetually excited Jongin off to a brand new, unvisited rink on the outskirts of his 50-mile radius. The three of them look around for anyone that stands out to Baekhyun, but to no avail. The next weekend, they visit another rink. Then another. And another. Still no luck. No cute mid-twenties men or women who could potentially be his missing soulmate. Baekhyun bites his lip and tugs his sleeve down over his tattoo, which is already covered with thin skin-colored tape. The incoming cold weather helps avoid unwanted questions, but keeping it wrapped up is just an extra precaution so he doesn’t have to face the shame of telling his parents and friends that he messed up finding his soulmate. 

“We should go to this one,” Taemin says thoughtfully, scrolling through the GPS. “There’s a two-hour session that we can catch.” He glances over to look at Baekhyun in the backseat, resting his cheek against the cool pane of glass. “What do you say, Baek? Wanna go skate some?”

“Okay,” Baekhyun agrees listlessly. Anything they try is futile, anyway. Taemin starts the car and talks quietly with Jongin as they drive. 

“This one is about twenty minutes away from your workplace, Baek,” Jongin tells him when they arrive. “You should visit it some more.” 

“Maybe.” Baekhyun holds open the door for his two friends, then walks in as well. 

“Be careful.” Jongin extends his hand out to Baekhyun, helping him onto the ice. “Your ankle is still really weak, so you need to take it slow.” 

“I always take it slow,” Baekhyun sighs. “I can’t go fast.” 

“All the better. See anyone that might be your soulmate?” The two of them skate in the general direction of the crowd of people on the session while Taemin trails away from them to try a few tricks in the middle, daredevil that he is. Baekhyun glances around. There are lots of teenage boys, weaving in and out of people’s legs and trying to trip them up. Clusters of people that look his age sit in the bleachers, and there are a few lessons going on in the center of the ice where Taemin is. Baekhyun bites his lip. 

“Jongin.” 

“What? Did you find someone?” 

“I-I have no idea,” Baekhyun realizes. “I can’t tell.” His gloved hand reaches over to grip his tattooed wrist. “It’s already colored in, how am I supposed to know who set it off unless they touch it? I can’t just… just ask random people to touch my wrist,” he says agitatedly. Jongin’s eyes widen when he takes in the predicament. “What am I supposed to do?” 

“Just a feeling, Baek,” Jongin insists. “Your tattoo isn’t the only thing you can rely on. It’s like a little flutter in your chest. I always felt it around Taemin before we got our tattoos.” 

“I have no idea!” Baekhyun squeezes his eyes shut, trying to calm himself down. “I don’t know how to find them!” He takes a panicked step forward, then lurches as he’s thrown off-balance. 

“Baek!” Jongin shrieks. Pain shoots up his ankle and explodes in his hip as he lands on the ice. “Oh, fuck, Baek, are you okay? TAEMI!” Jongin yells across the ice, turning several heads. He skates away to get his soulmate’s attention as Baekhyun slowly sits up, trying to assess the damage done. He’d just gotten off crutches, dammit… 

“Sir? Are you alright?” One of the coaches in the middle of the ice is gliding over to him. Baekhyun sighs heavily and tests his ankle gingerly. “Are you hurt?” 

“My ankle,” Baekhyun explains. The coach kneels down and extends his right hand. 

“We should get you off the ice first. Can you stand?” 

“Yeah…” It doesn’t hurt as much as Baekhyun’s used to. He grabs the coach’s hand and pulls himself up, then glides on one foot over to the penalty box benches. 

“I’m a nurse,” he explains to Baekhyun, straddling the bench next to him and taking a seat. “Do you mind if I take a look?” 

“Please,” Baekhyun murmurs hesitantly, extending his injured ankle. The coach carefully works the laces of Baekhyun’s skate loose enough so that it slides off his foot without too much resistance, then peels off his sock to examine his foot. If Baekhyun had been paying attention to anything except the throbbing pain in his ankle, he would have noted the man’s handsome features and cute, slender build, but given the situation, all of those details go right past him.

“It’s swelling,” the coach says concernedly, gently probing the side. Baekhyun flinches. “Does that hurt?” 

“Yeah.” 

“And it hurts if I move it like this?” Baekhyun nods. “You probably sprained it.” The coach glances up to meet Baekhyun’s eyes worriedly. “I think it’s a light sprain. You might be able to walk on it still, but you’ll definitely need a brace.” 

“Really? It’s sprained?” Baekhyun asks in mild disbelief. 

“Yes, it’s likely sprained. You over stretched a ligament, which holds your joints together.” 

“Oh my God.” Baekhyun claps a hand over his mouth to hide his ridiculously wide smile. “IT’S SPRAINED!” 

“What?” the coach looks bewildered. 

“WE’RE EVOLVING, BABY!” Baekhyun punches the air with a fist. “Wait till Doctor Son hears about this one, he’s gonna bust a nut. YAH, TAEMIN!” he calls to the approaching figure. “It’s a SPRAINED ANKLE!” 

“Really?” Taemin looks delighted. “Oh, that’s great! I mean, it’s not great, because you’re still hurt, but at least it’s not broken!” 

“I KNOW RIGHT?” Baekhyun claps with glee.

“What?” the coach beside him stares at Baekhyun like he’s grown antlers. 

“Baek, you okay?” Jongin glides up to the boards, holding a toddler in his arms and bouncing him gently. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” The coach stands up immediately and steps back onto the ice gracefully. “That’s my student, I didn’t mean for him to get in your way.” 

“Really?” Jongin blinks in surprise.  _ “You’re _ Coach Dae?” 

“Wait, WHAT?” Taemin asks immediately, looking between his soulmate and the baffled coach. 

“Are you… by chance… Mr. Kim?” Jongdae points to Jongin in vague recognition. 

“Markie, what stories have you been telling Coach Dae about me, hmm?” Jongin teases, ticking the boy’s cheek with his fingers to get him to giggle and squirm. “Are you telling him about what a big meanie I am?” Mark squeals and shakes his head ‘no’. 

“He… uh, he likes learning about the letters,” the newly recognized Coach Dae supplies helpfully. 

“His favorite thing to do is skate backwards,” Jongin replies, setting the toddler down onto the ice so he can cling to Jongdae’s leg. Jongin extends his right hand. “Kim Jongin. I’m Mark’s preschool teacher.” 

“So we’ve established,” the coach laughs brightly and shakes Jongin’s hand. “Kim Jongdae, Mark’s skating coach.” 

“My soulmate,” Jongin introduces Taemin proudly. “And…” all three of them turn to Baekhyun, who’s still sitting on the bench, watching the whole I-know-you, you-know-me situation pan out. 

“Hi. I’m Baekhyun with a sprained ankle.” Baekhyun raises a hand in greeting. 

“Sprained?” Jongin echoes in disbelief. 

“I know, right? It’s amazing!” Baekhyun pats himself on the back. “I’m improving every day.” 

“Do you need crutches for a sprained ankle?” Jongin asks with wide eyes. 

“His is light, so I don’t think so,” Jongdae tells him. “Maybe just get a brace and take it easy for a couple of weeks. Get some ice on that soon, though.” 

“Did you hear that?” Baekhyun wiggles his eyebrows. “Not even crutches, baby!” 

“You’re doing amazing, sweetie.” Jongin leans over the boards to ruffle Baekhyun’s hair. “That’s fantastic news.” 

“It’s a sprained ankle…” Jongdae says confusedly. 

“Yes! Only a sprained ankle!” Baekhyun turns to him. 

“ONLY?” 

“ONLY!” 


	6. Chapter 6

~

_ 8. _

_ There is subtle magic in the feeling of knowing that you are exactly where you should be in life; for young Kim Jongdae, it is when he steps onto the ice for the very first time at his eighth birthday party. He ends up in a hoodie-shaped lump on the cold ice, unable to find his balance while his best friends Junmyeon and Minseok stumble over him, shrieking with laughter, but at that moment, Jongdae decides that numb fingers, cold noses, and bruised knees is the best feeling in the world.  _

_ “Mommy,” he tugs at his mother’s blouse as soon as the session ends, stumbling clumsily to the benches. “I want to learn how to skate.”  _

_ “But I just signed you up for swimming lessons with Junmyeon, honey,” his mother sighs patiently, deft fingers working loose the knots of Jongdae’s laces. “Sit still, Jongdae.”  _

_ “I want to skate,” Jongdae insists.  _

_ “Sweetheart, I don’t want to sign you up for something only for you to quit halfway.”  _

_ “I won’t quit,” Jongdae says stoutly. “I promise.” His mother picks up the small pair of worn rental skates, then holds out her free hand.  _

_ “Let’s go ask the front desk, honey.”  _

  
~  
  


_ 14. _

_ “Well done, Jongdae.” His coach nods in approval as he lands a jump. “You’re looking good for your upcoming competition.” Jongdae beams happily. Every afternoon after school is spent at the rink, where he still crashes and falls hard sometimes, but more often than not, he stays on his feet and twirls around gracefully. Minseok likes to tease him that the ice rink could be his soulmate, whereupon Jongdae just smiles and thinks that it may as well be true.  _

_ “Dae, have you ever considered coaching?” his coach asks him suddenly. “The Learn to Skate program is short a few coaches. You’re too young to hold an official position, but I’m sure they would love a few helping hands, especially with your talent.” At this, Jongdae pulls a face and shakes his head, unsure. Standing around in the cold rink and babysitting crying little kids isn’t what he signed up for all those years ago.  _

_ “What about my own training?” Jongdae shifts his weight onto his other skate.  _

_ “Teaching other people how to skate is just as beneficial to your training as practice,” his coach assures him. “I strongly encourage you to give it a try.” This is how he finds himself bundled into a puffy black jacket on the weekend, timidly standing behind one of the senior coaches who smiles and coos at the line of toddlers in front of her in an unnaturally high-pitched voice. Jongdae eyes the kids nervously, as if they’ll suddenly grow fangs and bite him. Toddlers are unpredictable and scary. They could burst into tears at any moment. Oh, God, what if the parents blame him for making their kid cry? Jongdae has no idea what he’s doing here.  _

_ “Simon says… touch your toes!” The coach next to him smiles and reaches down to touch her skates. Jongdae copies her reluctantly, feeling extremely stupid. “Simon says touch your head!” Everybody reaches up. “Simon says skate forward!” Jongdae holds his arms out in front of him and marches backward as the little monsters creep up on the two coaches--that is, if Jongdae considers himself to be a coach.  _

_ “Hey,” a low, normal-sounding human voice whispers in his ear. “Can you go help him over there? The little one who can’t keep up.” Jongdae turns to see a boy, sitting down against the wall, absentmindedly playing with the piles of accumulated snow on the ice.  _

_ “What do I do?” Jongdae asks, more nervous than he has ever been in his life, even when he’s right about to compete.  _

_ “Just play ‘Simon Says’ with him like we’re doing.” And with that, the girl leaves him alone to fend for himself as she turns her attention back to the cluster of kids waiting for her next direction. Jongdae eyes the parents watching him with hawk eyes, then turns his gaze to the little boy as he skates closer and kneels down onto the ice.  _

_ “Hey.” The toddler looks up at him, then returns to making a snowball. He has no interest in Jongdae, who can’t make his voice cute and high-pitched or handle kids, for that matter. Jongdae chews the inside of his lip in consternation as the boy crawls away to gather more snow for his snowball. “Wait, no, come back,” Jongdae scoots on his knees over to the boy’s new location awkwardly. “You--you need more snow?” His student looks up and nods. “You wanna learn how to make snow?” Two blinks. Jongdae takes that as a yes and stands up. He skates away to gather speed, then charges at the boy, who squeals as Jongdae skids to a stop right before he hits him, sending flurries of snow into the toddler’s lap.  _

_ “Like that?” Jongdae asks, a slow smile spreading across his face when the boy claps eagerly. “Come on.” Jongdae kneels down and holds out his hand. “I’ll show you, and we can build a big snowball together.” Something warm spreads in his chest as he coaxes his little student out of his shell, taking a few steps back at a time and encouraging him to skate forwards, then stop to create small mounds of snow which they pat into the snowball carefully. When they get to the other side of the rink, Jongdae holds out his arms. “You wanna throw it at me?” The boy laughs as snow explodes on Jongdae’s puffy jacket and lands in the folds of his scarf. “Oh no!” A giggle escapes from Jongdae’s lips, too, when he charges at the toddler playfully and scoops the child up into his arms just as the whistle blows, signaling the end of the session. He can do this. This is exactly where he belongs.  _

  
~  
  


_ 18. _

_ “It’s here, it’s here!” Minseok grips Jongdae’s free arm excitedly while Junmyeon leans in on the other side to watch Jongdae’s tattoo form.  _

_ “Oh, it’s already black!” Jongdae crows. A soulmate older than him, someone who will cheer him on at competitions and bring him hot chocolate after coaching. He can already see it in his mind’s eye, even as the tattoo comes into full view and a puzzled look covers everyone’s faces.  _

_ “A broken… bone?” his mother is the first to speak. Jongdae squints at the outline. Two pieces of bone, angled slightly away from each other, with jagged lines at where they should connect. It’s not at all cute and playful, like Minseok’s penguin tattoo, or straightforward like Junmyeon’s musical notes. This is… Jongdae’s heart sinks. He can’t even begin to guess what this is. The feeling of confusion and disappointment only grows when he sneaks a glance at his parents, who look like they’re not sure what to say.  _

_ “Maybe they’re a doctor,” Junmyeon says, scrutinizing the peculiar mark. “Like an orthopedic specialist.”  _

_ “It’s unique,” Minseok’s mouth is pinched in concentration. “Unlike Jun’s boring music notes.” Junmyeon only smiles placidly and pats Jongdae’s shoulder.  _

_ “No matter what it is, Jongdae, it’s special to you and your soulmate,” Jongdae’s mother adds. “You should be proud of that.”  _

_ “It’s just not what I was expecting,” Jongdae mumbles, brushing his thumb over the ink.  _

_ “And that’s okay,” Jongdae’s father ruffles his hair. “Love isn’t always what you expect. But when you finally meet them, everything will click into place.”  _

_ “Mine is still purple,” Minseok nudges him. “But at least we can start searching for yours. Any ideas for where to start?” Jongdae doesn’t answer immediately, instead choosing to gaze at his soulmate tattoo for a while longer. This will be with him for the rest of his life, Jongdae realizes. It may be unexpected, but it’s quirky and beautiful in its own way. He’ll learn to grow fond of it, and the person responsible for his tattoo will surely make him love it even more. Maybe his father is right. He’ll realize its significance when the time comes.  _

_ “I hope I don’t break a bone when I meet them,” Jongdae murmurs, causing everyone to burst into laughter, including himself. “What an awful first impression.”  _

  
~  
  


_ 19. _

_ The lady at the front desk of the orthopaedics clinic looks up and shows Jongdae a polite smile as he cautiously approaches the counter. “How may I help you today, young man?”  _

_ “Um…” Jongdae furrows his eyebrows. “I was wondering if you had any volunteering opportunities open… for people who are… um… interested in… health care?” Is he interested in health care? More like a certain healthcare worker, maybe. The lady stares at him for a few moments before she nods.  _

_ “Yes, we do offer shadowing and volunteer opportunities for pre-med candidates--I assume you are in university?”  _

_ “Yeah…” Jongdae murmurs, cautiously taking the brochure that she offers him.  _

_ “You can sign up through this link. We do have a lot of interested students, so space is limited, but you don’t need any prior experience.”  _

_ “Thank you,” Jongdae says shakily.  _

_ “You’re welcome. Anything else I can do for you?” Jongdae glances back at Minseok and Junmyeon, who give him questioning looks.  _

_ “Uh… could you point me to the bathroom?”  _

_ “I’m pretty sure it doesn’t take 20 minutes to pee, Minseok,” Jongdae hisses as his friend drags him through the hallways of the building.  _

_ “It doesn’t, but that’s not what we’re doing, are we?” Minseok points out. “Just a quick look around, Dae, see if anyone triggers something.” _

_ “I don’t think we can wander around--”  _

_ “Who’s gonna be able to tell? We can just say we’re trying to find a friend.” They pass by a doctor dressed in a white coat, to whom Junmyeon waves politely at. “Hello, doctor.”  _

_ “Good afternoon,” Doctor Son inclines his head to all three of them. Jongdae watches him go.  _

_ “Damn, kinda wish he was my soulmate.”  _

_ “You’re not the only one,” Junmyeon breathes. “Okay, keep walking.” They pass by some more doctors, a group of nurses wearing scrubs, and a few bored-looking receptionists, none of which cause Jongdae’s tattoo to fill in.  _

_ “Let’s just go home,” Jongdae suggests. He’s sweating from climbing up staircases and running down empty hallways to peek into rooms. “Maybe it’s just not today.”  _

_ “Make sure you sign up for those volunteering opportunities, though,” Minseok reminds him.  _

_ “I am NOT going pre-med,” Jongdae says flatly.  _

_ “You don’t have to. Just hang out at the hospital for a few weeks.” Minseok leans against the wall while Junmyeon helplessly asks a passing physician for directions to the exit. “At least you know you’ll have eye candy.”  _

  
~  
  


_ 20. _

_ “Yah, Dae,” Minseok says one night while Jongdae is bent over his homework in a corner of their cramped, tiny dorm room. “Come with me to the zoo.”  _

_ “The zoo?” Jongdae asks skeptically.  _

_ “Gonna go find some penguins.” Minseok looks over at Jongdae and holds up his wrist. The purple outline is now black. Jongdae gasps. _

_ “THEY GOT INKED?”  _

_ “Let’s go soulmate searching.”  _

_ “What day? I have coaching and I’m volunteering this weekend,” Jongdae laments.  _

_ “Let’s go after class tomorrow, then. Fun little excursion,” Minseok suggests.  _

_ “But I have training tomorrow afternoon,” Jongdae protests.  _

_ “Just skip it for once. You skate all the time, Dae,” Minseok sighs exaggeratedly. “Besides, don’t you want to go see some penguins? Polar bears? Lions? Soulmates?”  _

_ “Okay, okay.” Jongdae circles his final answer and gives in to his best friend. “Let’s find you a pretty penguin.”  _

_ All things considered, Jongdae muses as he and Minseok watch the little penguins waddle around the artificially cooled enclosure and dive into the water, this might actually be worth skipping skating for. Since it’s a weekday afternoon, the zoo isn’t crowded with families and little kids. There’s only six or so people standing near them, peering through the looking glass.  _

_ “They are cute,” Jongdae decides. He grabs Minseok’s hand and turns it over to examine the ink on his inner wrist while his best friend coos at the penguins.  _

_ “Dae, look at that one!” Minseok points to a baby penguin. “Look at how fluffy it is!” Jongdae glances up just as an employee walks into the enclosure, wearing rubber boots and carrying a bucket full of fish. _

_ “Look at THAT one,” Jongdae mutters under his breath, eyeing penguin man’s handsome side profile. Minseok does, too. And then he gasps and wrenches his hand out of Jongdae’s grasp.  _

_ “Jongdae, oh my God, oh my God.” Minseok winces as his tattoo begins to fill in with color. Jongdae yelps in surprise.  _

_ “REALLY? IT’S HIM?” His raised voice turns curious heads towards them while Minseok stares at penguin man.  _

_ “Did you find your soulmate?” someone asks Minseok.  _

_ “Yeah, he did,” Jongdae answers for his friend after a few seconds, seeing as he is currently fixated on the man crouching down and feeding penguins with the softest, most affectionate look on his face.  _

_ “Congratulations!” The small group of people erupt into cheers and applause.  _

_ “He’s so cute,” Minseok whimpers, and Jongdae can’t really tell if he’s talking about the penguins or his soulmate. Penguin man stands up after a few minutes, then glances toward the looking glass where Minseok is staring wide-eyed at him. He flinches and the bucket falls from his hand, causing fish to spill out every which way. The penguins go into a frenzy. Jongdae yanks Minseok away and they sprint towards the entrance of the enclosure.  _

_ “Hi!” Minseok splutters as Jongdae backs away from both of them to text Junmyeon, leaving him and his shell-shocked soulmate in rubber boots standing just outside of the door. “I’m Minseok, I’m 20 years old, I’m studying finance and economics, I saw my mark turned black and I have a penguin so I decided to go find the penguins and here I am, it’s such a coincidence, right? Wow, I didn’t really expect to find you so fast…” Minseok’s blabbering fades away as his soulmate remains silent.  _

_ “You have a penguin.” Minseok’s insides turn into butter at the man’s deep, mellow voice. He has thick eyebrows and full lips, and his eyes give away no trace of emotion, despite the softness of his gaze towards the penguins earlier. _

_ “Yeah, I, uhh…” Minseok rolls up his sleeve and shows it to penguin man. “What’s yours?” The younger offers his wrist to Minseok and shows him a newly colored-in cinnamon roll. “Well, fuck me, that’s cute,” Minseok mutters under his breath. “That’s uh… that’s probably because I want to open a bakery when I graduate,” he rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “I’m glad you didn’t get something stupid like a marshmallow.”  _

_ “A marshmallow,” the guy repeats, slowly realizing that his soulmate is an actual bundle of fluff.  _

_ “Yeah, my friends call me ‘marshmallow’ sometimes, and I just… I like… marshmallows?” Minseok mentally slaps himself. “Yeah. Uh, anyway, you’re younger, right? I mean, I know that, I saw my tattoo turn black a few days ago. Umm, happy belated birthday! I--” the one-sided conversation halts once more as penguin man clasps his hand and pulls Minseok closer to examine the tattoo.  _

_ “Gentoo,” he says softly.  _

_ “Wh-what?” Minseok blinks rapidly while Jongdae furiously snaps pictures of them from around the corner.  _

_ “Gentoo penguin.” His soulmate nods to himself.  _

_ “The one on… on my wrist?” Minseok asks. Penguin man looks up at him with those big, blank eyes and nods. “That’s so cool!” Minseok’s face splits into a wide gummy grin. “Wow, I can’t believe I even have a specific species. I wonder why…”  _

_ “It’s my favorite,” his soulmate says softly. Is it just Minseok, or are his ears turning red? Oh, God, that’s so cute.  _

_ “What’s your name?” Minseok asks. “Sorry, I didn’t even ask you that before I started talking.”  _

_ “Kyungsoo.”  _

_ “Kyungsoo,” Minseok says, and the name melts on his tongue like fresh-baked cinnamon buns. “Can I…” the elder gestures to his tattoo, but Kyungsoo withdraws slightly away from him. “Oh, sorry, sorry. I get it. It’s fine,” Minseok’s heart drops a little at the subtle rejection, then lifts when Kyungsoo instead reaches for Minseok’s arm hesitantly. “Y-you wanna try with me first?” Kyungsoo nods, then gently presses his hand to the penguin. Minseok gasps, watching Kyungsoo with awed eyes. His soulmate radiates peace, comfort, and serenity. When he removes his hand, the blush is crawling to his cheeks when Minseok refuses to stop staring at him with a touch of newfound gentleness in his gaze.  _

_ “Hey,” Minseok’s voice is softer, more tender instead of the precious mix of nervous excitement. “Are you shy?” Kyungsoo nods silently, feeling the knot of stress unclog from his heart at finally being understood. Minseok has big, friendly eyes and the prettiest smile that he’s ever seen. He makes Kyungsoo’s heart pit-patter furiously, and he’s suddenly extremely self-conscious in front of him. He probably smells like fish and he’s wearing dumb rubber boots, but Minseok doesn’t seem to mind at all. “Do you want to feel it?” Minseok asks with another one of those cute smiles. “It’s really nice.” He holds his hand out, an open invitation. Kyungsoo swallows hard and offers his wrist. Minseok watches his soulmate’s face the entire time, even as Kyungsoo looks down bashfully. The younger man flinches when Minseok’s fingers graze the surface of the cinnamon bun, then relaxes. Slowly, Minseok wraps his hand around Kyungsoo’s and holds it lightly, pleased when Kyungsoo doesn’t pull away. This feels right. It feels like the start of something beautiful.  _

_ “It’s nice to meet you,” Kyungsoo murmurs. A gorgeous heart-shaped smile blossoms across his face, and for the first time since they met, Minseok is at a loss for words.  _

_ “Are you in love with pterodactyls, Jongdae?” Minseok asks as Jongdae tilts his head up to look at the giant bird dinosaur skeleton hanging above their heads in the museum. “Is that what this is about?” Junmyeon titters, then wanders away to read a plaque. Next to Minseok, Kyungsoo slips his hand into his soulmate’s. Minseok squeezes it happily.  _

_ “I like the triceratops the best, actually,” Jongdae says absently. “And I haven’t had any luck at the hospital for a couple years now, so I wanted to try something else.”  _

_ “It’s pretty smart,” Junmyeon remarks, hands shoved casually in his pockets. “Archaeology exhibits. Can’t believe we didn’t think of that earlier.”  _

_ “But…” Minseok waves his arm around at all the bones. “I’m pretty sure your tattoo is referring to a living person, Dae.” Kyungsoo hides a laugh behind his hand. He’s still soft-spoken, but Minseok understands him with a glance, even though they only found each other five months ago.  _

_ “Let’s go find some living people then,” Jongdae suggests, wandering through the exhibit. Junmyeon follows him good-naturedly. After a few hours of weaving through crowds of visitors, tour guides, and museum curators with no luck, Minseok flops down on a bench outside with Kyungsoo predictably right next to him. Jongdae and Junmyeon glance at them.  _

_ “Tired out?” Junmyeon asks. “Bones got you feeling old?”  _

_ “I wanted to take a look in the other building they have,” Jongdae points across the paved trail. “If you two want to wait here, you can.” Minseok glances at Kyungsoo, then waves Jongdae off.  _

_ “Good luck. Yah, Jun, make sure you get some good pictures of them if he meets anyone. I’d kill to see Jongdae pretending to be interested in bones with some archaeology expert.”  _

_ “They’re interesting!” Jongdae insists. “My anatomy class is my favorite one this semester.”  _

_ “Yeah, yeah, save it for the soulmate.” Minseok smirks. “Can’t believe you switched your major to nursing just because of a few volunteering sessions.”  _

_ “We’ll text you when we’re finished.” Junmyeon walks away with Jongdae, chattering eagerly about some exhibit he had read up on. Minseok steals a kiss from Kyungsoo’s cheek when he least expects it, making him startle and blush.  _

_ “Come on, my little penguin. I’ll buy you a… what was it, a Tasty T-Rex Treat?” Minseok shows off his gummy smile. Kyungsoo laughs, standing up and accepting his outstretched hand. “I’m pretty sure it’s just a soft pretzel, but we can share.”  _

  
~  
  


_ 23. _

_ “Hey,” Jongdae waves to Junmyeon from across the restaurant. The elder stands up to give him a quick hug before Jongdae takes his seat. “I’m so sorry, Myeonnie, work has been hectic these days.” Mind, the hospital is always a rather crazy place, but Jongdae has come to love it. He had never expected his soulmate search to end with him finding his dream job, but he really does love being a nurse; tending to patients, keeping himself busy with work since he has nothing else to do. No soulmate to come home to, no commitments to his life.  _

_ “I know, Dae. It’s good to see you. How’s coaching going?” Junmyeon smiles.  _

_ “I’m lucky enough to keep my weekends open.” Jongdae grins and orders a water with lemon. “My newest student is improving super fast. She was so shy at first, but now she won’t stop talking.”  _

_ “And you’re doing well?” Junmyeon inquires.  _

_ “Of course. You know me.” Jongdae shrugs, opening his menu. “What about you, Jun? How’s law school?”  _

_ “About as stressful as you would think, but it’s nice to have a short break for the holidays,” Junmyeon sighs. The fatigue of constant studying shows under his eyes, but he is still as controlled and patient as ever.  _

_ “No soulmate?” Jongdae inquires. He’s met by silence. Jongdae looks up in surprise at his friend. “Junmyeonnie? No way!” Junmyeon’s tired expression gives way to crescent-shaped eyes and a tender smile as he rolls his sleeve up to show Jongdae his multi-colored musical notes. Jongdae coos with delight. “Oh, is this what you called me to dinner for?”  _

_ “Yes,” Junmyeon admits. “I met him at law school.”  _

_ “Him?” Jongdae emphasizes, and Junmyeon nods. “That’s so cute, Myeonnie. Go on, I want to hear all about the lucky guy.”  _

_ “His name is Yixing, he’s an international student from China, studying classical bassoon under Professor Kim Jonghyun. He has an adorable dimple and he really loves music.”  _

_ “I can tell,” Jongdae says wryly. “Can I see a picture?” Junmyeon shows him, and Jongdae smiles at the bright expression filled with joy on his friend’s face. “You look so beautiful with him,” Jongdae murmurs, and for a second, he feels a pang of loneliness. All around him, his friends and colleagues are meeting their soulmates and settling down. Minseok and Kyungsoo are completely inseparable by now. And yet, here is Jongdae, working on weekdays and weekends for nobody but himself. “I’m so happy for you, Myeonnie. You two deserve only good things.”  _

_ “You haven’t found them yet?” Junmyeon asks gently. Jongdae shakes his head in negation. “Dae, you’re still young. There’s lots of time left.”  _

_ “I know. I’m not worried about it, usually.” But it’s hard when it feels like everyone is finding their forever partner except for him.  _

_ “Fate saves the best encounters for last,” Junmyeon reminds him. “Whoever it is, they must be someone very special.”  _

_ “I hope so.” Jongdae smiles, perhaps a little sadly. “Thank you, Myeon.”  _

  
~  
  


_ 24. _

_ Jongdae strolls along the trail briskly, a light jacket pulled over his hospital scrubs, taking in the fresh, crisp autumn air and the warm sunshine just before it sets below the horizon. He’s been stuck inside the hospital all day, and it’s been a weird day for him. He figured a quick walk to clear his head before going home wouldn’t hurt--but apparently, so did everyone else. The park is busy in the afternoon, and further down the hill that leads to a large, glittering lake, there are even more people, jogging, walking, laughing with friends or soulmates. Jongdae turns to look at the water, and as he does, he feels a pinch at his wrist. He gasps, jerking his hands out of his pockets to watch the broken bone fill in with pale white, then whirls around frantically to see who else could have possibly felt the pinch with him. Kyungsoo didn’t feel it until he looked at Minseok, Jongdae remembers, so it’s possible that his soulmate hasn’t even spotted him yet. A sense of panic and uncertainty fills him. The park is so crowded, and people are constantly moving past him, which only adds to the confusion. How could he possibly find who set off his tattoo? He gazes down at the trail by the lake, but there are too many heads for him to scan every person one by one.  _

_ “Dammit,” Jongdae murmurs to himself, cursing the soulmate system for being so inaccurate. Why couldn’t it fill in when they actually met eyes or something? How is he supposed to tell who he looked at? “DAMMIT!” Jongdae growls louder, causing a few heads to turn and look at him curiously. There’s too many people. Something vibrates in his pocket, and Jongdae’s fingers touch his pager. His presence is needed at the hospital. Trying to keep his desperation and tears at bay, Jongdae turns tail and reluctantly leaves the park, knowing that as he does, he’s lost all chance of finding his soulmate..  _

_ “Jongdae?” Junmyeon opens the door after three heartbeats, and upon seeing the lost, desolate look in Jongdae’s eyes, holds his arms out immediately. Jongdae throws his arms around Junmyeon’s neck, letting loose a tiny, shattered sob. “My bright, strong Dae,” Junmyeon murmurs gently, shutting the door with his foot and patting Jongdae’s back with the other. “What could have possibly happened to make you cry like this, honey?” Junmyeon sits down and pulls Jongdae into his lap, right there on the cold, hard floor next to the front door. Yixing gets up from his seat at the dinner table when he hears the sniffles and muffled crying; when Junmyeon meets his eyes, his soulmate silently leaves to heat a pot of water for tea and grab a cushion.  _

_ “S-s--” Jongdae buries his head in Junmyeon’s shoulder and cries harder, scrabbling for the elder’s hand and shoving his wrist into it. Junmyeon carefully pulls back his sleeve and tamps down on his surprise when he sees the colored-in tattoo.  _

_ “You found them,” he whispers, but Jongdae furiously shakes his head, heaving ragged breaths to try and explain. Luckily, Junmyeon doesn’t need him to. “You don’t know who they are.” A fresh wave of tears renders Jongdae useless, but he nods. “Oh, Jongdae.” Junmyeon’s heart breaks in two for the gentle, compassionate nurse. “It will be okay.” he cards his fingers through Jongdae’s hair.  _

_ “I--I was at the park,” Jongdae trembles in Junmyeon’s lap. “Af-ter work… t-too many pe-people. And then… got p-paged.” He fists his hands in the cotton of Junmyeon’s shirt and hiccups miserably, feeling very small and insignificant in the vast, unsearchable world. He doesn’t even know where to start within the park, let alone the whole city.  _

_ “You and your soulmate’s fates are intertwined,” Junmyeon murmurs. Yixing comes back with a mug of white jasmine tea, a box of tissues, and a pillow. His hand brushes the top of Jongdae’s head briefly before he pads away quietly. “Your paths will cross again.”  _

_ “Wh-what if they don’t?” Jongdae frantically brushes tears off of his cheeks. Junmyeon reaches for a tissue and begins dabbing them away.  _

_ “Jongdae, honey, I can’t promise you anything,” the elder’s voice is quiet and reassuring. “But if you’ve run into them once, then what are the odds that you won’t ever run into them again, hmm?” Jongdae sniffles and reaches for a tissue. “What if they go to that park every day after work?” Junmyeon inquires. “And if they work nearby, then maybe we should go search some more hospitals, like we used to do in university. I’m sure Minseok would be glad to tag along, don’t you think?”  _

_ The younger nods wordlessly and climbs out of Junmyeon’s lap to sit next to him, leaning his back against the wall. “Drink something warm.” Junmyeon taps the rim of the mug between them. “Yixing makes good tea.” In fact, the entire house radiates serenity and comfort. Jongdae cracks a tremulous smile as he takes a sip of his drink. Junmyeon always knows exactly what to say to calm him down; it appears that his Yixing is also a tranquil, reassuring man. No wonder the two of them are together. Vaguely, Jongdae wonders if his soulmate shares similar traits with him, or if they’re seemingly different, like Minseok and Kyungsoo. He bites his lip. Do they even know about him? Did their eyes land on him, too? _

_ “We’ll find them,” Junmyeon pulls himself to his feet gracefully and offers Jongdae a helping hand. “You can keep your tattoo mostly covered while we search, so you don’t get too many questions from your colleagues and parents.” He keeps a comforting hand on Jongdae’s back as he guides him deeper into the apartment. “And if anyone gives you any trouble about not being able to find your soulmate, you don’t pay them any attention, okay? This is not your fault.” Jongdae nods and blinks the last of his tears away.  _

_ “In the meantime, come meet Yixing,” Junmyeon invites as a handsome man stands up from the couch, showing Jongdae a warm smile and a deep dimple in his cheek. A small gold ring dangles from one ear, and his eyes look sleepily peaceful. Jongdae likes him immediately. “It’s been almost a year since I’ve seen you, Dae. About time you showed your face around here and met my other darling.” Junmyeon chuckles quietly. Jongdae flushes and murmurs a quiet greeting as he shakes Yixing’s hand. Everything will be okay, he thinks, sipping tea and scribbling down the names of hospitals while Junmyeon and Yixing check locations. The next time he and his soulmate meet, he won’t let them slip through his grasp. _

~


	7. Chapter 7

The next day at work, Jongin is preoccupied for the entire day, debating the idea that had sprouted in his mind after yesterday’s skating trip. He bites his lip in consternation as he watches his kids bend over their papers, engrossed in scribbling away with bright crayons and pencils.  _ What would Taemi do?  _ Jongin thinks to himself. Then he has to stifle a laugh, because knowing his soulmate, he would probably come up with some crazy idea that eventually ends in a fire extinguisher and lots of delirious giggles. Some things never change. Jongin hesitates all the way up until he stands outside the door to his classroom, waving good-bye to his darling kids and making sure they get to their waiting parents alright. Then he finally makes up his mind. 

“Mark?” Jongin beckons to the little boy, holding out his hand. “Where’s your mother, honey? I need to talk with her really quickly.” 

“Am I in trouble?” His eyes go wide and worried. 

“No,” Jongin assures him, fluttering his hand so that Mark grasps it tightly. “I want to ask her about your ice skating coach.” He looks up and smiles brightly at his mother as they approach. “Hello, Mrs. Lee. How are you today?” 

“Doing well, thank you. How are you, Mr. Kim?” Mark’s mother accepts the crayon drawing that her son holds up to her eagerly. “What’s this, sweetheart?” 

“Snowflake!” Mark crows happily. “Starts with ‘S’!” 

“I see. It’s very pretty, honey.” Mark’s mother looks at Jongin with anticipation.

“I’m doing good,” Jongin answers her question first, then decides to cut to the chase. “I’m not sure if you saw me, but I actually ran into Mark in his skating lesson this weekend,” Jongin shares. 

“Oh, really? You were at the rink?” Mrs. Lee asks interestedly. 

“Yes, I was out with my soulmate and some friends,” Jongin says casually, sticking his hands in his pockets. “One of them is interested in trying skating, and I’m afraid I didn’t get Coach Jongdae’s number when we talked briefly. So I was wondering if you could pass his contact to me? He seems like a great coach.” Mrs. Lee looks surprised, then nods quickly. 

“Absolutely! I can give you his number. Mark started taking private lessons with him somewhere around August last year, he seems to really enjoy his practices every week.” Both mother and teacher glance down at Mark. 

“Do you like Coach Dae, Mark?” Jongin asks the boy warmly. Mark looks up at him and nods fervently. 

“We play ‘Catch the Coach’! And-and last time, I learn-learned crossover, and he gives me roller coaster rides.” 

“I see!” Jongin laughs affectionately while Mrs. Lee pulls up Jongdae’s contact for Jongin to copy into his phone. “Thank you so much, Mrs. Lee. I really appreciate it.” 

“Of course! How’s Mark doing?” she inquires, slowly beginning to walk down the now-empty hallway. Jongin follows with idle chatter and class updates before waving them off at the entrance. 

“Thank you again, Mrs. Lee!” Jongin smiles gratefully. “Bye, Mark! I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” 

“What are we doing tomorrow?” Mark asks eagerly. 

“We’re going to make snowmen,” Jongin replies. 

“Nini,” Taemin says very seriously later that evening. 

“Yes?” 

“Should I use depolarization-induced suppression for the neurotransmitter release?” 

“Baby, I have no idea,” Jongin says, patient and fond. Taemin’s notes and research papers are spread out across the cushions as the man himself mutters furiously under his breath, using Jongin’s broad back as a desk while the preschool teacher lays on his stomach over their wide couch, texting Jongdae. 

Kim Jongdae 

Hi! Is this Kim Jongdae? 

“2-AG is removed via degradation by MAGL, which ends up accelerating the recovery of synaptic transmission, so I suppose that’s the best plan of action,” Taemin decides, laying his cheek on the fabric of Jongin’s sweater as he scribbles notes. Jongin hums in vague agreement, waiting for Jongdae’s reply. 

Kim Jongdae 

Who is this?

I’m Jongin, Mark’s preschool teacher? 

I got your number from his mother today

Oh! Hi :) 

I wanted to ask if you are able to fit another student into your coaching schedule? 

Yes, I can do that! 

I teach on the weekends mostly, but I have an open spot on Sunday 

I think that’ll work :) 

I’m trying to help Baekhyun and find him a skating coach, since he’s having a hard time grasping the technique and I don’t want him to keep getting injured 

The one who sprained their ankle yesterday? 

Is he doing alright? 

Yes

He’s OK :) 

That’s good to hear, and very sweet of you to do that for him ^^ 

Yeah, so you can just pass my contact to him if he’s interested in lessons! I’ve never taught adults before since I usually work with littler kids, but I’m more than happy to help out :) 

Okay! I’ll let him know and have him text you

Thanks for everything! 

My pleasure! ^_^ 

“Baekkie,” Jongin singsongs, calling him immediately. Taemin’s deep in his big brain headspace, so he doesn’t even register Jongin’s conversation as he keeps working on his project. “How’s your ankle?” 

“Kinda swollen, but it’s doing pretty good. I’m icing it right now,” Baekhyun replies. “Whatcha doing?” 

“Actually, I called you cause I got you something,” Jongin quickly explains the brief conversation he had with Jongdae. “You’re always injuring yourself,” he whines into the receiver. “If you keep getting hurt, it’s bad for your body, Baek. Taemi has an injury that gives him trouble now, because he didn’t take care of himself when he was younger. I think a coach would help you lots; you need proper training if you insist on skating.” There’s a long silence on the other end of the line. “I didn’t give him your number,” Jongin murmurs, crestfallen. “You can… text him if you want. I just thought maybe--” 

“So you’re saying I skate as well as a toddler.” Baekhyun snorts on the other end of the line.

“I don’t want you to keep getting hurt!” Jongin insists. 

“I’m playing. You’re the best, Jongin.” Baekhyun is touched. “The world doesn’t deserve you.” 

“I’ll give you his number.” Jongin blushes furiously at the compliment. “Stay safe, Baekkie, okay?” 

“I will, I will,” Baekhyun promises. “Thank you, Jonginie. I’ll get you and Taemin front row tickets to the Olympics a few years from now.” 

“I’m looking forward to it.” Jongin giggles. “Good night, Baek.” He hangs up, then yelps as Taemin’s finger traces strange shapes on his round buttcheek. “What are you doing?” 

“Stay still,” Taemin intones, lost in his calculations. “I’m imagining the schematic of the procedure.” 

“On my ass, Taemi-diamond?” Jongin feels himself fall a little more in love as his soulmate hypothesizes potentially groundbreaking research on his rear end.

“It’s perfect,” Taemin insists. “Yes, it’s all coming together. Depression of EPSCs should recover with a time constant of 8.8 ± 1.6 seconds…” Jongin sighs dreamily and taps Jongdae’s contact to send it to Baekhyun. 

“Hey!” Two weeks later, Jongdae beams widely and skates over to the entrance of the rink to meet Baekhyun. “Is your ankle better?” 

“Yeah, I’ve been off the brace since this Tuesday,” Baekhyun shakily steps onto the ice and accepts Jongdae’s handshake. “I’m, uh, kinda nervous,” he admits. “I’m not sure what to expect.” 

“Oh, that’s perfectly fine,” Jongdae immediately reassures him. “We’re just going to skate around a little so I can see where your baseline is.” He meets Baekhyun’s friendly gaze, and takes in his new student’s pretty smile and slim face, even though he stumbles clumsily on skates. Whereas Jongdae’s students are usually childishly adorable, he finds this one handsome, charming, and downright hilarious as they skate together in circles around the rink, with the conversation only stopping so that Jongdae can point out small corrections for Baekhyun to carefully apply. It’s like skating with a friend, Jongdae thinks. He feels like he  _ knows  _ Baekhyun, even though they’ve only really just met. The coach-student dynamic that is so tangible for his other lessons is lessened with Baekhyun, who listens eagerly to Jongdae’s stories about being a competitive skater when he was younger, and makes easy jokes to add to their non-stop chatter. 

“Hey, you’re really good for a beginner,” Jongdae tells Baekhyun when he carefully lifts one foot off the ice and glides a considerable distance. “I definitely didn’t pick things up this quickly when I was younger.” His student looks at him with a sheepish half smile forming on his face. 

“A beginner? I hate to break it to you, but I’ve been skating for six years.” Baekhyun raises a wry eyebrow as Jongdae’s jaw drops. 

“SIX? YEARS?” He’s not sure whether to laugh or be embarrassed. 

“Aw, come on, Jongdae. You couldn’t see it?” Baekhyun jokes teasingly. “I mean, just look at this technique.” 

“Well… uh…” Jongdae stammers, having figuratively lost his footing. “There’s always room for improvement, right?” 

“Some more than others,” Baekhyun throws himself under the bus, laughing at Jongdae’s helpless expression. “It’s alright. For some reason, I just can’t skate to save my life.” 

“I can help with that,” Jongdae smiles. “I don’t know if you’ve felt it or not, but you’ve already improved lots in only twenty minutes.” 

“Kind of,” Baekhyun admits. “A lot of stuff feels easier.” 

“If you want, we could probably try turning from forward to backwards,” Jongdae suggests. “I think you can handle it.” He shows Baekhyun how, then carefully holds one of his arms aloft as he shakily gets some speed. “And turn--” Jongdae’s grip suddenly becomes vice-like as Baekhyun slips and starts to fall backwards. He wraps his arms around his waist when Baekhyun falls into him, but unlike his toddlers, Baekhyun is a full-grown man, so despite Jongdae’s stable footing and best efforts, he gets pulled down onto the ice in a flurry of flailing limbs. 

“Oh, sorry, sorry,” Baekhyun apologizes as he crashes half on top of Jongdae. “I didn’t mean to pull you down.” Perhaps it’s because he’s a 26-year old touch starved man, but Jongdae’s arms, which haven’t managed to let go of his waist, make his heart beat slightly faster than before. Jongdae’s amused smile and crinkles around his eyes don’t help either. 

“Not to worry,” Jongdae giggles, sliding out from under Baekhyun and getting to his feet gracefully to dust the snow off his pants before extending a hand to help his student up. “That wasn’t half-bad, by the way.” 

“If I fuck up, you’re coming down with me. We are one and all that.” Baekhyun flashes Jongdae a winning smile as he stands up. 

“S’okay. I’m used to falling.” Jongdae chuckles. “Let’s try that again.” 

“How was the lesson?” Jongin inquires excitedly when Baekhyun practically waltzes into Taemin and his apartment with little stars in his eyes. Of course, by Jongin and Taemin’s standards, it hardly constitutes as a waltz, but Baekhyun looks like he is floating on clouds. 

“I learned how to turn backwards,” Baekhyun sounds eager and giggly. “He said I did really well.” Jongin gasps and claps his hands happily. 

“That’s amazing!” 

“Jongdae is so patient and friendly,” Baekhyun gushes, sprawling out on the couch next to Jongin and Taemin. “He has a kitten smile.” 

“Awww,” Jongin squeals and squeezes his soulmate’s hand. “How cute!” 

“Cute,” Baekhyun agrees. “Jonginie, he gets this look in his eyes when he talks about skating, and his voice is all reverent and eager… he’s so gentle, but when you listen to him, you can tell how passionate he is. I learned so much from him. He’s so interesting to talk to.” Baekhyun scoots over to Jongin and gives him a big hug. “Thank you for reaching out to him. Maybe I’ll actually improve now that I have a proper coach.” 

“I just wanted to try and help keep you safe,” Jongin pats Baekhyun’s back. 

“The way he talks about skating makes you want to fall in love with the sport, too.” Baekhyun pulls away and taps his chin thoughtfully. “It’s like when you two talk about dancing.” 

“He sounds like an amazing coach,” Taemin nods in approval and plants a light kiss on Jongin’s cheek. “You’re the sweetest little teddy bear,” his breath tickles Jongin’s neck as he whispers into his soulmate’s ear. “You always know what to do.” The two of them listen to Baekhyun animatedly talk about his first lesson with relief. For the first time since the soulmate incident, Baekhyun’s presence is bright and enthusiastic, as if Jongdae has rekindled his bubbly, cheerful personality. He chatters on and on about the entire lesson, then launches into their plans to schedule another lesson for next week. Jongin smiles happily to himself. 

“Finally fancy visiting your best friend, huh?” Minseok remarks when he opens the door to a red-cheeked, rink-chilled Jongdae, who brings a gust of November wind in with him as he steps over the threshold into the spotless apartment. “Soo, Jongdae’s here!” Minseok calls. There’s no reply, but Minseok turns back to Jongdae. “He’s glad you dropped by.” 

“Kyungsoo is your soulmate,” Jongdae tells Minseok affectionately. “That doesn’t mean you can read his mind.” He finds the other resident in the kitchen with a pink apron tied around his waist and over his black turtleneck sweater. “Hi, Soo. Nice to see you. Whatcha making?” 

“Pesto shrimp pasta,” Kyungsoo speaks quietly as usual, but smiles at Jongdae. “I’m glad you dropped by.” Minseok bursts into laughter and lays an affectionate hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder while Jongdae stares at him, slack-jawed. 

“Do you want to stay for lunch? We’re eating late today,” Minseok invites. 

“Lunch sounds amazing, I just finished coaching.” Jongdae indicates the duffel bag hanging off of his shoulder. 

“Oh!” Minseok snaps his fingers. “Didn’t you get that new student? The adult one?” 

“Yep, we had our first lesson today.” Jongdae wanders away to place his duffel bag next to the couch, partially to hide the smile that spreads across his face at the thought of Baekhyun. Unfortunately, Minseok has the eyes of a hawk. 

“Uh! What’s the little smirk for?” Minseok asks teasingly. “Wait, wait, let me guess. He’s cute, isn’t he?” 

“He’s fun to be around.” Jongdae carefully dodges the trap that Minseok sets. “Don’t get me wrong, I adore the kiddos, but this is like teaching a friend. We get along really well and I don’t have to repeat instructions three times. Plus, I can actually discuss technique with him, and we had some great conversation. We--”

“So he’s cute,” Minseok concludes. “He’s cute and talkative and probably has pretty eyes. Am I right or am I right?” 

“I--” A blush rises along the tops of Jongdae’s cheekbones, and he impatiently brushes it off. Baekhyun does indeed have sparkling cocoa brown eyes, but that’s totally beside the point. “He wasn’t very talented,” Jongdae giggles at the memory of sprawling across the ice together, “but he seemed willing to learn. He asked a lot of questions. It was a really relaxing lesson.” 

“Jongdae, those are all roundabout ways of saying he was adorable as shit,” Minseok insists. From the stove, Kyungsoo nods silently in agreement. 

“You’re missing the point!” Jongdae complains. “I think he’s around the same age as me, and it was my first experience teaching an adult skater. It was--” 

“On the contrary, I think I am nailing the point.” Minseok grins before sauntering over to Kyungsoo and wrapping his arms around his soulmate’s waist. “Am I right, Soo?” Kyungsoo nods before turning around and offering a strand of angel hair pasta to taste. His eyes ask a silent question. 

“S’amazing, babe.” Minseok hums happily as he chews. Jongdae gazes at both of them affectionately as he perches on the arm of the couch. 

“Anyway, as I was saying, I think the lesson went really well,” Jongdae concludes. “I’m glad Jongin reached out.” 

“Yeah, I bet you are,” Minseok teases. “Pretty eye candy who you can hold hands with.” 

“You would be a terrible coach,” Jongdae declares.

“Hey, I would only flirt with one student.” Minseok snickers as Kyungsoo’s ears turn red. Jongdae’s phone buzzes in his pocket and he fishes it out to read one new message from Baekhyun. 

Byun Baekhyun 

Same time next week? :) 

Works for me! 

See you then~


	8. Chapter 8

“Hey, Baek,” Jongdae greets him with an uncontainable smile by the side of the rink as usual. “Oh, look at that, he doesn’t even need to use the wall to get on anymore.” Baekhyun’s hair is swept up and off of his forehead today. His tongue peeks out between his teeth as he smirks cheekily at Jongdae, who beams even wider. Sundays have become his favorite day of the week solely because of Baekhyun. 

“I have a good coach,” Baekhyun quips, gliding next to Jongdae to start his warm-up without prompting. “One that apparently is good enough to eat?” he teases. Jongdae startles, then bursts into bright laughter. 

“Yah, I don’t know what to do with that kid,” Jongdae’s smile is practically stuck on his face; always is during Baekhyun’s lessons. “I was just showing him how to skate backwards, then he launched himself at me and bit my hand.” 

“He thought your backwards wiggles were yummy,” Baekhyun says matter-of-factly. 

“And what about you? What do you think about backwards wiggles?” 

“I hate skating backwards, you know this.” Baekhyun sighs as Jongdae inevitably draws a circle in the air with his finger to make him turn around. His cheerfulness is restored, however, when Jongdae holds his hands to keep his center of gravity over his feet. It’s a professional hold, Baekhyun knows, and it doesn’t mean anything. Just like how his miniscule crush on Jongdae probably only developed out of loneliness, but he’s pleased nonetheless. They work so well together. Baekhyun looks forward to skating more than ever; only now, it’s not just the lingering promise of finding his soulmate at the rink. 

“You’ve gotten so much better since we first started lessons,” Jongdae offers. 

“Like I said, I have a good coach.” Baekhyun derives so much happiness at seeing the blush rise on Jongdae’s high cheekbones and dust his nose with pink color. 

“Just doing my job,” Jongdae murmurs, even though his heart warms at Baekhyun’s high opinion of him. He has to quell these feelings. They’ve risen up far too quickly in just a few weeks of being around Baekhyun. He can’t help it; his newest student is so amicable and easygoing. And okay, maybe Minseok was right--he’s also ridiculously cute.  _ You’re just lonely,  _ Jongdae scolds himself. Perhaps Baekhyun already has a soulmate. At any rate, he didn’t say anything about a pinch when they first met, so he can’t be Jongdae’s other half. Why is he so disappointed by the inevitable, though? 

“You okay?” Baekhyun asks, rousing Jongdae out of his thoughts. “You’re kinda quiet?” The genuine concern in his eyes makes Jongdae break out into a small smile. 

“I’m fine. Let’s move on to something else,” he suggests, letting go of Baekhyun’s hands. “You seem to be making good progress on getting speed.” 

“It’s easier,” Baekhyun admits, turning around to skate forwards--or not. His blade catches on the ice, and he stumbles. 

“Oh--” In his haste to try and catch Baekhyun, Jongdae’s fingers close around his left wrist. “SHIT.” Jongdae wrenches his hand back instantly when he realizes, while all of Baekhyun’s weight lands on his right arm and he lets out a surprised cry as he crashes onto the ice. Strangely, the pain that immediately shoots through his arm is dulled by a momentary feeling of tranquility and peace. His awareness of his surroundings becomes muddled, like he’s also hit his head in the fall. It feels as if someone is nearby, soothing his injury with just their presence.  _ You’re okay. I’m here. You’re safe.  _ Baekhyun gasps softly, then the feeling dissipates. His arm throbs painfully, and he’s almost certain that it’s broken. He huddles on the ice, afraid to move because of his discomfort, and becomes aware of Jongdae kneeling next to him, stammering out a stream of apologies. 

“I’m so, so so so sorry, Baekhyun, I swear I didn’t mean to, you were falling and I just grabbed you, I’m so sorry.” Jongdae has never been so repentant in his life. That was Baekhyun’s soulmate tattoo, a precious, intimate part of his body bonded to someone else. His student glances towards his other arm, face still pulled into a grimace. Jongdae looks down as well. A pair of ice skates, colored in with shades of black, gold, and silver. Jongdae feels even worse as Baekhyun shakes his sleeve gently to cover it up. It was colored in. He has a soulmate, and Jongdae just touched his tattoo. 

“Baekhyun, I am so sorry.” Jongdae’s eyes are wide and pleading. “I would NEVER--I don’t even know what to say. I’m sorry.” His chest aches with remorse. Baekhyun was probably learning how to skate for his soulmate, and in his panic, Jongdae was careless. 

“It’s fine,” Baekhyun’s breathing comes harsh and ragged, but Jongdae knows it’s not fine. If he were in Baekhyun’s place, he’d be furious. “ Fuck, Youngjae is gonna… kill me.” 

“I’m sorry,” Jongdae feels a lump forming in his throat. He doesn’t even bother asking who Youngjae is. Probably his soulmate. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

“I fell on my arm,” Baekhyun hisses through gritted teeth. 

“Can you move it without feeling pain?” Jongdae kneels down next to Baekhyun as his student shakes his head in negation. “Okay, just stay still, alright? Let me see.” He examines Baekhyun’s arm gently, but it’s bent at an odd angle, and even the slightest touch makes him stiffen. “It’s probably broken.” Jongdae flags down the skate attendant and sends him to grab a first-aid kit. 

“Shocker,” Baekhyun mutters under his breath. 

“I’m going to splint your arm, okay? It might hurt a little, but you need to keep it as still as possible.” Having pushed the soulmate tattoo subject to the side, Jongdae handles the medical emergency as quickly and professionally as possible. “Alright,” he murmurs as he carefully wraps a bandage around the splint and Baekhyun’s forearm. “Let’s get you to the hospital.” 

Son Youngjae does, in fact, kill Baekhyun with his gaze the second he walks in through the door. 

“Can you stop coming here?” his doctor demands exasperatedly. 

“No can do, Youngjae,” Baekhyun winks--blinks--at his doctor, still cradling his most definitely broken arm in its cast. “We’re even on a first name basis.” 

“You should not be on a first name basis with your doctor,” Taemin says quietly from the corner, having rushed to the hospital with Jongin as soon as they had gotten the call. Jongin is furiously mumbling under his breath about needing to wrap Baekhyun in body pillows to keep him safe in between periods of calmness, Taemin’s hand brushing across the diamond on his wrist every so often. 

“Correct,” Youngjae sighs heavily. “Baek, you need to stop hurting yourself, or else I’m going to write a doctor’s note and send it to the rink so they won’t let you on the--” 

“Noooo,” Baekhyun wails dramatically as Youngjae flits around him, taking his vitals. “Anything but that, doc, please. I’ll do anything.” 

“Including never breaking your bones again?” 

“Be realistic, Youngjae,” Baekhyun chides. “Ah, also.” His eyes flit to Jongin, then drift back to his doctor. “Could you, uhh, get the scary little demon out of the room first?” Jongin’s attention snaps fully to Baekhyun. 

“What. Did. You. Hurt.” Baekhyun squeaks in fear. 

“You look like that doll from ‘The Conjuring’,” Taemin comments mildly to Jongin. He giggles when Jongin turns on him. “Cute teddy bear.” 

“...Ookay,” Youngjae says after a moment of confusion in which he and Baekhyun both fail to find the similarities between a cursed doll and a teddy bear. “If you two could step outside for a moment, I’d be much obliged.” 

“Do you need anything, Baek?” Taemin asks, lacing his fingers with Jongin. 

“No, I’m good here.” 

“Then we’ll actually be on our way,” Taemin sounds apologetic. “We have a few things--” 

“Goodbye then!” Baekhyun shoos them away immediately. 

“We’ll visit later,” Jongin threatens. 

“No, thank you!” Baekhyun waves with his good arm while Youngjae shuts the door behind them. “Yeah, so anyway, I think I might have a concussion as well.” Baekhyun’s brows scrunch confusedly on his forehead as he recalls the moment of tranquility during his fall. “I felt funny when I landed on the ice.” 

“Did you hit your head?” Youngjae inquires. 

“Not that I know of.” 

“Multiple concussions can lead to brain damage,” his doctor chastises him. “You really need to give skating a break, Baekhyun.” 

“I’m getting better, I promise.” 

“Doesn’t look like it,” Youngjae grumbles, checking Baekhyun’s eyes and asking him questions every so often. “You’re not showing any signs of a concussion,” he tells Baekhyun, stepping back. “But if you’re concerned about having one, then you might have a brain hemorrhage. In that case, I’d probably want you to stay here for a few days, just to check your condition in case symptoms develop.” 

“Works,” Baekhyun agrees. “I know you love staring at my beautiful face.” 

“Quite the opposite. I’ll send in a nurse to check in on you every so often, and you can press this button if you need anything. Make sure--” 

“Yeah, yeah, I know the drill.” Baekhyun laughs at Youngjae’s tired sigh. “I’ll text Jongin and Taemin to bring my stuff over a little later. Thank you, doc.” 

Baekhyun is bored out of his mind, absentmindedly daydreaming when there’s a hesitant knock on his door before it opens. 

“Hey!” Baekhyun immediately struggles to sit up in bed at the sight of Jongdae, looking cute in an oversized blue sweater, twisting his fingers together nervously. 

“How’s your arm?” Jongdae asks softly. His brows are all furrowed, and he looks reluctant to approach Baekhyun’s bedside, as if he’s not allowed to be here. 

“Broken, but I’ll heal,” Baekhyun dismisses. At this, Jongdae’s expression flickers unnaturally, but he remains guarded and timid. “They’re worried I might have a brain hemorrhage though, so that’s why I’m still stuck here.” 

“I’m--I wanted to apologize again,” Jongdae murmurs. “I swear I didn’t mean to grab your wrist, it was a total accident. I’m really sorry, Baekhyun. I feel so bad, I--” 

“Oh.” Baekhyun glances at his left arm resting on the hospital sheets, noticing that Jongdae does as well. “No, you’re totally fine. Seriously, I understand. I didn’t even realize that you touched my tattoo, so don’t beat yourself up over it. You were just trying to keep my clumsy ass upright.”

“I’m so sorry,” Jongdae apologizes profusely even though Baekhyun waves it away. The moment keeps replaying over and over in his head. Baekhyun’s flinch at Jongdae’s touch, the brush of his fingers against such an intimate part of him… blood rushes into his face and dusts his cheeks with a shade of pink. 

“It’s really fine, Jongdae,” Baekhyun insists, even though he’s busy staring at Jongdae’s colored cheeks. He looks so  _ cute.  _ Baekhyun’s heart quickens for several beats. It even covers the top of Jongdae’s nose. The skater glances shyly at him, hands clasped in front of him and disappearing into folds of soft cloth because of his too-large sweater. Baekhyun feels an irrational urge to roll his sleeves up for him and cup his cheek, just to see if it’s as warm as it looks.  _ No!  _ Baekhyun scolds himself. No, no, no. Jongdae is just a lonely crush. He’s not supposed to feel like this. “Here, have a seat,” Baekhyun gestures to the chair next to his bed. 

“It’s a very pretty tattoo,” Jongdae blurts out. Baekhyun looks surprised, then his expression settles into something indecipherable. “Figure skates,” Jongdae murmurs, remembering the design even as Baekhyun turns his wrist so that it is pressed against the sheets. “Who’s your soulmate? I might know them.” What is this jealousy that floats up in Jongdae’s chest? What is there to be envious about? “I know everyone at the rink, so…” Jongdae lets out a little laugh. 

“Oh.” Baekhyun licks his lips nervously. “Probably not… I mean, I-I met them at my job,” he lies quickly. This is not a conversation he wants to delve into. 

“I see. Where do you work?” 

“I write for SKATING magazine,” Baekhyun explains. 

“Oh, really? I have a subscription!” Jongdae smiles. “Funny, I guess I never caught your name on your articles.” 

“You probably skim them like everyone else,” Baekhyun scoffs. 

“I’ll make sure to look for them now,” Jongdae promises. “That’s so cool, I’ve read it since I was little.” 

“What about you?” Baekhyun asks, feeling curious. 

“I told you I was a nurse when you sprained your ankle, right?” 

“Oh. Yeah, I know, I meant…” Baekhyun’s left hand twitches. “Someone special?” he asks curiously. Jongdae looks around the hospital room furtively. 

“No,” he shakes his head. “I… haven’t found them yet.” 

“I see.” The small piece of information makes Baekhyun happier than it justifiably should. “I hope you’ll find them soon,” he offers gently. “Whoever they are, they’re really lucky.” Jongdae presses his lips together to hide his smile, but it’s futile. 

“That’s really sweet of you to say.” They share a small smile, and then Baekhyun changes the subject, but Jongdae keeps thinking about the compliment for the rest of his visit. Is his soulmate lucky? Somehow, he doubts it. After all, Jongdae wasn’t even able to find them. 

A couple of days later, Jongin and Taemin drop in to provide entertainment and company to an extremely antsy Baekhyun, who is getting tired of hospital food and blank walls. He pops chocolate covered pretzels--courtesy of Jongin, the beautiful angel he is--into his mouth as he mentions the visit that Jongdae had paid him the day before yesterday. 

“I didn’t even realize he’d touched my tattoo while I was falling,” Baekhyun mumbles around his pretzels. Sweet and salty is the best flavor combination ever. “He apologized so much, I got embarrassed. Fuck, he’s so cute when he’s blushing.” A smile makes its way onto Baekhyun’s mouth as he thinks about Jongdae. “And it was really sweet of him to visit. He’s so nice and gentle.” 

“Sounds like someone has a crush,” Jongin teases. 

“Yeah, I kinda do,” Baekhyun admits. “He’s objectively cute, okay? You’ve seen him.” 

“Mmmm,” Jongin nods and shrugs. “Not as cute as Taemi.” 

“Pack it up,” Baekhyun deadpans as Taemin pretends to bite the shell of Jongin’s ear affectionately from behind him. “I get it, you’re in love.” 

“You’re the prettiest,” Taemin coos to Jongin. 

“No,  _ you’re  _ the prettiest.” 

“No, you.” 

“You!” 

“Me,” Baekhyun declares while Jongin makes mushy heart eyes at Taemin. 

“Not with that cast, you’re not,” Jongin shoots cheekily, then frowns. “When do you get out?” 

“In a few more days. Youngjae said he wants to make sure my brain isn’t busted. I swear, it was the weirdest feeling when I broke my arm,” Baekhyun frowns, puzzled. “It didn’t feel like it hurt at all. Everything was all fluffy and it kind of felt nice.” 

“Huh?” Jongin looks confused and also slightly concerned. “Maybe you really did hurt your head, Baek.” 

“Yeah, exactly. It felt like… like my body was panicking, but then all of a second, things just slowed down and everything got really peaceful. Even the pain faded, sort of.” Baekhyun shrugs. “But my head feels fine, I just--why are you looking at me like that?” Baekhyun turns to Taemin, whose eyebrows have all but disappeared into his soft black bangs. 

“He grabbed your left wrist,” Taemin’s voice seems to echo through the hospital ward, and Jongin can almost physically see the cogs working in his mind to piece things together. “While you were falling?” 

“Yeah…” Baekhyun continues to look perplexed. “I’m talking about my possible busted brain cells.” 

“Endogenous neural stem cells and numerous pro-regenerative molecules can replace and repair damaged neurons and glial cells, so you’re okay,” Taemin dismisses. Baekhyun closes his eyes to try and process this bit of information. “You felt peaceful?” 

“Yeah, like shit was gonna be okay, even though my arm was split in two.” Taemin’s grip around Jongin’s waist tightens as the younger gasps and turns his head to stare at his soulmate. “Uh, lovebirds?” Baekhyun snaps his fingers. “Wanna fill me in on Taemin’s big brain discovery?” 

“Baek,” Taemin’s voice is hushed, “Baek, that’s what happens when soulmates touch each other’s tattoo.” Instantly, Baekhyun’s eyes go all round and wide. 

“That’s what it feels like?” he asks.

“Like this.” Suddenly, Jongin yelps as Taemin pinches the skin on the back of his right arm hard, then places a hand over his diamond. Instantly, the momentary pain dulls, and Jongin leans back happily into his soulmate’s embrace. “See?” Taemin raises his eyes to Baekhyun, then rubs Jongin’s arm soothingly. “I’m sorry,” he fusses over Jongin unnecessarily. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, teddy bear. Are you okay?”

“It’s just a pinch, Taemi-diamond,” Jongin brushes it off, but his heart fills with affection at his soulmate worrying over every tiny injury. Once, he got a papercut from cutting out arts and crafts, and Taemin almost cried while searching for the band-aids. The sweetest boy. 

“So you’re saying…” Baekhyun spells it out slowly. “Jongdae… is my soulmate?” 

“It would explain the momentary tranquility,” Taemin murmurs. “I doubt you experienced a concussion. There aren’t any symptoms which fit what you described. It’s common to feel dizzy or perhaps fuzzy, but these are usually accompanied with disorientation. Your experience sounds exactly like a soulmate touch.” 

“So… so…” Baekhyun is reluctant to accept this. It’s just too strange, too convenient. 

“Have you ever seen his tattoo?” Jongin wants to know. Baekhyun shakes his head. 

“I don’t know what it is, but he said he hasn’t met his soulmate yet,” he reports. “We talked about it super briefly on Sunday.” 

“It makes sense,” Taemin nods, very sure of his theory. “Your skating tattoo, the little crush you have, and him grabbing your wrist. Fate tends to make sure soulmates cross paths. I think you should consider the possibility, Baek.” The younger just nods absentmindedly, lost in his thoughts. 

“Baek?” Jongin shakes his shoulder gently. “Do you want to get some rest? You look tired.” 

“Maybe,” Baekhyun mumbles, glancing down at his colored-in tattoo. His mind is whirling with thoughts. 

“We should probably get home anyway,” Jongin checks his phone. “It’s getting late.” 

“Yeah, okay.” Baekhyun clasps Jongin’s hand gently, then Taemin’s. “Get home safe. Thanks for the pretzels and… everything else.” 

“Of course. Text us if you need us to bring anything else, okay?” Jongin smiles while Taemin reaches for his hand. “See you soon.” 

“Good night.” Baekhyun waves the two of them off. 

“You really think they’re soulmates?” Jongin asks, holding onto a pole in the subway while Taemin crowds against him, hand nestled in Jongin’s coat pocket and fingers intertwined. 

“Probably. I’m 85% sure.” Taemin’s voice is soft, and he tips his head to rest against Jongin’s shoulder. 

“Oh, I’ll be so happy if they are,” Jongin murmurs, squeezing Taemin’s hand in his pocket. 

“Me, too. They work out well,” Taemin smiles. 

That night, as Baekhyun lays alone in his dark hospital bed, he remains awake for a long time, hyper aware of the ink on his left inner wrist; filled in with color, but unclaimed. Taemin’s proposition plays over and over in his head as he struggles to fit the puzzle pieces together. It’s so difficult to hope that he’s finally found his soulmate, especially after all this time. Everything just seems too perfect and wonderful to be true. Still, Baekhyun’s heartbeat quickens at the possibility. What if Jongdae really  _ is _ his soulmate? 


	9. Chapter 9

Jongdae drops by the next day. As in, the cute skating coach who may or may not be Baekhyun’s long lost soulmate, looking abso-fucking-lutely adorable in another piece of oversized clothing. Seriously, the sweatshirt swallows him up so that only his cute sweater paws peek out of the sleeves. Baekhyun smiles happily at the sight of him, carrying a Tupperware bowl of something, approaching his bedside with a murmured greeting. 

“How’s your head?” he asks, not unkindly. 

“I’m feeling fine,” Baekhyun replies. Seeing Jongdae brings on a mixture of warm-hearted feelings that almost overwhelm him. Fondness, affection, excitement. But he’s also completely lost as to how to approach the soulmate subject without outright asking. He doesn’t want to offend Jongdae, and--Baekhyun winces--as far as the skater knows, Baekhyun already has one. Besides, in the weeks that Baekhyun had taken lessons with him, Jongdae hasn’t said anything about feeling a pinch. Admittedly, if he really is Baekhyun’s soulmate, then he might have also seen him at the park that day, but… 

“I, uh, I brought you some fruit,” Jongdae murmurs, opening up the lid of the Tupperware container. “You need vitamins to recover quickly.” Baekhyun genuinely feels his heart stop beating for three long seconds at his concern and compassion. 

“You…” Baekhyun almost scowls in frustration. It’s like he  _ wants  _ Baekhyun to fall in love or something. “Thank you,” he settles on something simple. Jongdae offers him a small upturn of his lips before he shyly holds a piece of strawberry to Baekhyun’s mouth with a plastic fork. That’s it. Baekhyun can officially feel himself becoming whipped. “Thanks,” he repeats. Jongdae’s blush is back, and Baekhyun is sure his own ears are red as well. With the skater being Cute As Hell and Baekhyun becoming Easy For Jongdae, he can barely think about what he’s supposed to say to Jongdae to start his soulmate investigation. Luckily, Jongdae speaks first. 

“You must be bored in here,” Jongdae says sympathetically, continuing to feed Baekhyun bites of fruit. 

“Yeah,” Baekhyun sighs exaggeratedly. “Nothing to do. I thought about getting some work done, but…” 

“They won’t let you because of your possible brain hemmorage,” Jongdae nods. “Well, better to be safe than sorry.”  _ Actually,  _ Baekhyun thinks,  _ that brain damage might be your soulmate touch.  _

“Yeah. Taemin and Jongin dropped by yesterday though,” Baekhyun shrugs. “Just to check on me.” 

“Oh? How are both of them doing?” Jongdae inquires. “They’re soulmates, right?” 

“Yeah, they’re actually a golden pair.” At this, Jongdae’s mouth forms a perfect little ‘o’ in surprise. 

“Are they really? So they… found each other before they got their tattoos?” he inquires interestedly. “Wow… I’ve never met a golden pair before.” 

“They’ve known each other since they were kids,” Baekhyun explains. “We all grew up together. They started dating in high school, but as far as I can remember, they were always inseparable.” 

“Oh, that’s so cute,” Jongdae smiles softly. “They’re a beautiful couple.” 

“Yeah, they are. They have shimmering tattoos and everything. Jongin is super sweet, he teaches preschool, and Taemin is a neuroscientist.” At this, Jongdae’s lips quirk up into the beginnings of a laugh. “They get along great though,” Baekhyun chuckles. “Even if they’re sappy all the time.” 

“Jongin seems sweet,” Jongdae muses. “He reached out to me about giving you lessons.” 

“Yep, he’s just like that. I’m glad he did,” Baekhyun murmurs. 

“Even if you’re in a hospital bed with a broken arm and possible concussion?” Jongdae inquires. He looks slightly guilty, as if he’s blaming himself for Baekhyun’s injuries. 

“Hey, ice is always slippery, right? You’re the one who told me that,” Baekhyun teases lightly. Jongdae laughs then, relieved, and holds out another strawberry to Baekhyun, who eats it obediently. “Is the rink far from the hospital you work at?” Baekhyun inquires cautiously. 

“Oh, it’s not far at all. Home, the rink, and work all kind of form a triangle,” Jongdae explains. “It’s quite convenient.” 

“I see. I used to actually go to another rink, you know the one by the fancy apartment complexes?” Here he goes. Sneaky soulmate interview time. 

“Oh, I know. It’s in the opposite direction of the hospital, so I didn’t really go to that one,” Jongdae explains. “But when I was little, I went maybe once or twice if there wasn’t practice ice at my home rink.” Baekhyun nods as Jongdae talks. “Is the commute long for you then, on Sundays?” Jongdae inquires. 

“It’s about the same either way,” Baekhyun shrugs. “Taemin and Jongin live in one of those penthouse apartments, so I just went to that rink a lot since they like to tag along.” 

“Oh--they live in THOSE?” Jongdae’s jaw drops. 

“I know, right? Golden pair perks,” Baekhyun smirks. “Imagine two horny 18-year old kids moving into that large of an apartment, not knowing how to make microwaveable mac n’ cheese. They almost burned the whole thing down multiple times.” Jongdae lets out a loud, cheerful laugh. 

“They sound like a fun pair. My friends are pretty interesting, too. One of them met their soulmate while they were feeding penguins.”

“Penguins?” Baekhyun asks incredulously. 

“Penguins,” Jongdae affirms. “I got the whole thing on video, it was great.” 

“That’s amazing,” Baekhyun giggles, accepting another piece of fruit. The conversation carries on easily, with Baekhyun slipping in questions every so often. Each answer only increases Baekhyun’s growing suspicion that Jongdae really might be his other half, as well as the lighthearted banter that doesn’t confirm anything. Jongdae giggles and happily feeds Baekhyun and pokes his cheek playfully. They  _ fit  _ together; Baekhyun is very aware. And although his heart has been hardened by years of searching for his soulmate, only to come home with casts and crutches, the outer shell starts to crack around Jongdae’s bright, gentle presence. Baekhyun allows himself a sliver of hope as he attempts to steer the conversation towards their birthdays. Jongdae would have to be younger than him, Baekhyun knows, and he’s long since memorized the date when his ink turned to black all those years ago… 

“It’s frustrating to be injured,” Baekhyun sighs when he ‘accidentally’ knocks a cute teddy bear that Jongin had left for him onto the floor and Jongdae stoops to pick it up. “You must have other things to do besides sitting here…” 

“I don’t mind!” Jongdae shakes his head immediately. “It’s fine, Baek. Seriously, don’t be shy to ask for help.” Baekhyun smiles gratefully. 

“Ugh, one time, I broke my leg right before my birthday, so I had to mope around in bed,” Baekhyun laments. “Taemin and Jongin got me crutches as a present.” 

“From what you’ve told me, they seem so mischievous and cute,” Jongdae says after he stops laughing. 

“They’re really good crutches though!” Baekhyun shares enthusiastically. “They ordered them from Spain, and they’re suuuper high quality. The crutches are exactly my height and non-adjustable, so they don’t click when I walk, and they’re super lightweight because they’re made of carbon.” 

“Uh… huh…” Jongdae seems more amused at Baekhyun’s rambling than he is interested in the crutches. 

“The only downside is that the cuffs slide down sometimes, and so it’s annoying to have to pull it back up, but that’s a minor detail,” Baekhyun dismisses it. “They’re really good crutches. They’ve lasted me years, which is an awfully good thing, since I’m basically like, cursed to break bones.” When Baekhyun says this, Jongdae blinks a few times.  _ Broken bones?  _ “My birthday is in May, and I really love spring and summer, but I had to spend all that time indoors while everyone was going to pool parties and hanging out. Ah, I was seriously so bummed,” Baekhyun clicks his tongue between his teeth regretfully. “Crutches are so inconvenient.” 

“You… break your bones often?” Jongdae asks faintly. 

“Yeah, this isn’t new.” Baekhyun tiredly motions to his cast. “I break as easily as uncooked spaghetti noodles.” 

“Oh.” Baekhyun already has a soulmate, he scolds himself. He’s not yours. It’s just a crazy coincidence. “It sucks that you had to spend your birthday inside,” Jongdae answers absentmindedly, thoughts swirling in the forefront of his mind despite every rational instinct of his is screaming that Baekhyun couldn’t possibly be his other half. “Summer is nice, but I like having a September birthday because the weather is just perfect. I like picnic celebrations,” Jongdae shares, a smile growing on his lips at the fond memory. “For my 21st birthday, my friends threw me a surprise picnic at Aeri Park by the lake. It was so pretty, with all the foliage around us.” 

“Aeri Park,” Baekhyun repeats, heart thudding in his chest. 

“Yeah, it’s between the hospital and my home. It’s a nice way to get some fresh air after work,” Jongdae remarks, not noticing the strangely excited expression on Baekhyun’s face. 

“Jongdae.” Baekhyun speaks slowly, both dreading and anticipating the answer. “How old are you?” 

“Huh?” Jongdae clamps the lid onto the empty Tupperware container and looks up at Baekhyun. “I’m 26, how about you?” 

“Same!” Baekhyun perks up. There are literal fireworks going off in his brain right now. “Hey, happy belated birthday!” He beams at Jongdae excitedly. 

“Thanks?” Jongdae chuckles. “I mean, you’re three months late, but I appreciate the sentiment.”  _ I appreciate the direction,  _ Baekhyun thinks. The checkboxes for his soulmate list are slowly being confirmed, one by one. The flutter in his chest, their respective birthdays, Jongdae’s proximity to Aeri Park. The one thing that would validate his theory even more would be… 

“You mentioned that you… haven’t found your soulmate yet,” Baekhyun says lightly. At this, Jongdae startles. Baekhyun follows the skater’s gaze down to his forearms, which are exposed since Jongdae rolled his sleeves up to feed Baekhyun. His left wrist is curiously wrapped in some sort of skin-colored gauze. Similar to what Taemin used to wear, Baekhyun thinks. Interesting. 

“No,” Jongdae confirms, and he wilts a little. “I wish I had someone to spend my birthday with,” he murmurs, feeling acutely lonely even though he’s talking to Baekhyun. Handsome, witty, charming Baekhyun, who is everything except Jongdae’s soulmate. 

“Hey,” Baekhyun murmurs, and Jongdae looks up to meet his enthusiastic gaze. “If you’re comfortable with showing me your tattoo, I could, you know, go soulmate searching with you. Maybe we could get you your own penguin moment.” Jongdae laughs, but brings his other hand to fold demurely around the gauze. Soulmate searching with Baekhyun sounds like a fun time, if it weren’t for the fact that he has technically already found them, and Baekhyun might seriously judge him for that. 

“But you’re kind of stuck in here, aren’t you?” Jongdae teases lightly. 

“Aish,” Baekhyun rolls his eyes and sighs. “Yeah, I’ll have to spend the holidays and New Year’s in a cast. But I know how it feels to be lonely,” he adds. “Imagine growing up with a golden pair and seeing all that lovey dovey soulmate shit rubbed in your face everyday. They’re so disgusting, it’s adorable.” 

“Oh, geez,” Jongdae winces. “I know the feeling all too well. I’m happy for my friends, but at the same time, it just…” 

“It gets to you,” Baekhyun speaks softly. “Not being able to find someone.” Jongdae nods. The familiar feeling of being incomplete comes back to him, except now, there’s a faint outline of someone filling that void. The more Jongdae tries to avoid the possibility, the more it manifests itself.  _ He’s taken,  _ Jongdae insists firmly.  _ That ink is colored in.  _

“At least you’re not alone anymore,” Jongdae says lightly, even though the words pierce and sting his heart. “Is your soulmate dropping by sometime? If so, I would love to meet them.” And he really would. He wants to meet the lucky person who holds the other half of Baekhyun’s heart. 

“Don’t worry about me,” Baekhyun gives him a wry smile. “I know how hard it is to hear about the romantic shit all the time. Let’s just focus on finding you your soulmate.” He nods to the skater encouragingly. “Let’s see it?” Jongdae stares at him, finding Baekhyun’s earnest gaze, his open expression. He seems genuinely willing to help Jongdae out, and the skater badly wants to believe that Baekhyun won’t judge him for messing up his search the first time. Minseok and Kyungsoo didn’t care, nor did Junmyeon and Yixing. Jongdae swallows hard. He wants to be honest, wants to come clean to Baekhyun. Something about him… Jongdae’s sensitive fingertips find the edge of the gauze. He scratches at it with his short, blunt nails until a millimeter of it comes loose. 

Jongdae’s movements seem to occur in slow motion. Baekhyun watches as Jongdae’s gaze drops to his wrist, and he slowly begins unwrapping the thin covering that’s hiding his soulmate tattoo. As a few inches of pale skin peek through, a blush begins to rise on Jongdae’s cheekbones, and he squirms shyly in his chair. How  _ adorable, _ Baekhyun coos, watching Jongdae fidget with the gauze and gently unwrap his wrist. He promptly develops a crush which is so achingly prominent that he almost forgets to breathe as Jongdae lets the gauze drop into his lap. 

“I… um…” Jongdae flushes timidly as he slowly turns the palm of his hand up. “I actually… lost them the, uh, the first t-time.” He studies the floor tiles intently as Baekhyun’s gaze falls onto the broken bone, colored in with pale white and gray shadows. “I don’t… know who they are…” Jongdae stutters, floundering for words as Baekhyun remains silent. If he had dared to look up, he would have seen the elder’s eyes glued to his tattoo, staring at the ink as if it is the only thing that exists in the universe. Everything else fades into fuzzy for Baekhyun as he zeroes in on the jagged edges of the black outline. “There were… um, a lot of people, and I actually--I got paged right after…” Jongdae explains, feeling more and more inadequate by the second. “I just--I don’t really like to… to t-talk about it because I’m… ashamed.” 

Hot liquid guilt flows into the pit of Jongdae’s stomach as he remembers that wretched day. “I was so close… but now it’s colored in, and… I’m… still single…” he trails off nervously and peeks upwards. Baekhyun is gawking at his tattoo, studying every detail of the small white bone on Jongdae’s wrist with intense concentration. Jongdae squirms under his gaze. “I just--I don’t r-really show it to anyone,” he almost whimpers. What if he read Baekhyun wrong? What if Baekhyun judges him for being so incompetent and pathetic that he isn’t even able to find his soulmate? His reputation, their friendship… Jongdae physically shrinks in his chair as he stammers for the right words to defend himself. 

Meanwhile, the initial shock of seeing Jongdae’s tattoo match up with his representation perfectly finally begins to wear off on Baekhyun, who starts registering Jongdae’s unease. He steals a look at the skater, who bites his lip nervously as he stares at the floor instead of at Baekhyun. His cheeks are bright red and his eyebrows are all furrowed together with worry while he fidgets nervously with the hem of his sweatshirt. He looks… distressed, Baekhyun realizes, and that’s the last thing he wants for his--and he’s almost positive about this--soulmate. Impulsive, shell-shocked, and a little too brash for his own good, Baekhyun mirrors what Jongin and Taemin do to calm each other down all the time. He reaches out and lays a hand over Jongdae’s tattoo. 

Calmness sweeps over the skater almost instantly, soothing all the worries and uncertainty that were accumulating in Jongdae’s chest as Baekhyun fell silent. He gasps, disoriented by the sudden change, but it comes out more as a sigh of relief. It’s okay. He’s not being judged or ridiculed. But the small sound wrenches Baekhyun back to reality, where his actions have very dire consequences. _ What the fuck is he doing?  _ Baekhyun jerks back and yanks every inch of his stupid body away from Jongdae. Pain shoots up his right arm through the cast, and Baekhyun cries out softly in emotional and physical distress. Why? Why did he just do that? Why did he ever think that was okay? 

“I’m so sorry,” Baekhyun apologizes mindlessly, desperately. “Jongdae, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to,” he babbles almost incoherently. “I wasn’t thinking, I’m, I’m so fucking sorry.” 

“What did you just do?” Jongdae’s voice is deadly serious, not at all like his usual kind, soft tone. Baekhyun curls in on himself in the hospital bed, wishing he were anywhere but here. 

“I’m sorry,” he whimpers. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” 

“Did you touch my tattoo?” Jongdae questions sharply. “Baekhyun.” His voice demands attention, and Baekhyun obeys instantly, looking up at Jongdae’s intense gaze which roots him to the spot. The elder’s eyes are wide and pleading, puppylike as he cowers at the skater’s intimidating inquiry. Jongdae clenches his jaw, mind trying to furiously catch up with the sequence of events. Baekhyun looks like his heart has just shattered into a million pieces while Jongdae’s gaze falls upon his tattoo. The skates. Every single one of Jongdae’s inhibitions disappears as he zeroes in on Baekhyun’s soulmate ink. He forgets that Baekhyun has a soulmate, and that he’s already fucked up once. It feels instinctual to place his hand against the tattoo. The second he does, Baekhyun’s tension falls away from him. It eases out of his shoulders, his hunched figure, the devastation written all over his face, to be replaced with pliant relief. He turns into a puddle at Jongdae’s touch, puppy eyes fading away into fluttering eyelashes at the delicate feeling of comfort and warmth. Jongdae kisses him. Hard, on the mouth, leaning over the hospital bed. Baekhyun promptly responds with a surprised whimper as peace turns to overwhelming pleasure and arousal. The sound punches straight through to Jongdae’s gut as his lips move in time with Baekhyun’s, spit making the kiss slick and slippery. His hand is still wrapped firmly around Baekhyun’s wrist, anchoring him to the bed, unable to move as Jongdae cups his cheek with his free hand. Want washes over him like waves, the touch of his soulmate only increasing the feeling until Baekhyun feels ready to burst. He cries out into Jongdae’s mouth, pleasure crawling under his skin and making the deep, heavy pulse in his groin unbearable. 

“More,” he all but whimpers. Jongdae’s answer is a low groan in the back of his throat. “Touch me,” Baekhyun begs, dialing up the puppy eyes as far as they go. Even the words feel good, especially when Jongdae pulls back to take in Baekhyun’s desperate keening and pliant form. 

“Where?” Jongdae inquires. Baekhyun shudders as another swell of pleasure spreads through his entire body. 

“Everywhere,” he pleads. He yearns to touch Jongdae, too, to press his fingers against the bone on his wrist and wrap his hands around his waist as the younger quietly kicks off his shoes before clamoring onto the hospital bed, but curse him, one arm is shattered and the other is still being held captive by Jongdae’s hand. Baekhyun has never hated a broken bone more than he does now, unable to do anything as Jongdae takes him apart with swollen, breathless kisses and endless ripples of arousal. 

“Oh, f-fuck.” Baekhyun trips over his own tongue when Jongdae reaches down to rub at his straining dick over his baggy sweatpants. The friction, combined with Jongdae’s touch on his wrist, almost make him come on the spot. 

“Is that good?” Jongdae whispers in between kisses on the corners of Baekhyun’s lips. 

“Yes.” Baekhyun’s eyes flutter shut as Jongdae’s hand sweeps his hair off of his forehead in a surprisingly soft gesture amidst his teasing and fondling. Of course, the elder is still in the baby stages of recovering from an injury. 

“Shhhh.” Jongdae presses a finger to Baekhyun’s lips, and the elder’s tongue peeks out to lap at it softly. The skater gulps and exhales shakily. Baekhyun looks achingly handsome, even with one arm in a cast, looking messy and slightly out of order in a hospital bed. He looks like a soulmate. “You have to be quiet,” Jongdae murmurs as Baekhyun’s gaze turns pleading. “Can’t let anybody know what we’re up to, can we?” 

“No,” Baekhyun shakes his head, feeling hot and shaky all over as Jongdae traces his bottom lip with a soft thumb. 

“We need to make sure you don’t hurt yourself,” Jongdae chides softly. The hospital bed is small, and so as he half-straddles Baekhyun, their clothed erections brush against each other tantalizingly. “But you want this, don’t you?” His hand trails downwards, inches up into Baekhyun’s sweatshirt to feel his tummy, then rubs against both of their dicks. Clearly, he’s caught onto the begging thing. Baekhyun nods furiously and gasps when Jongdae wiggles his hips slightly, grinding into him. 

“Just please…” Baekhyun whimpers, completely pinned by Jongdae’s warm body, lithe and graceful from all those years of skating training. Jongdae tugs at Baekhyun’s waistband, wriggling around to shimmy the sweatpants and underwear down to Baekhyun’s hips, then hiking his shirt up to expose half of Baekhyun’s smooth, pale torso, stomach showing just a trace of abs. His erection twitches in protest as Jongdae takes his time with Baekhyun’s tummy, rubbing it softly, feeling the sharp jut of his hip bone under his hands. Then they creep even further up Baekhyun’s chest to tweak at his nipples, and Baekhyun cries out, writhing under Jongdae’s ministrations. 

“Shhh, shhh,” Jongdae reminds him again, slotting his lips to fit against Baekhyun’s. The elder hardly cares. The feeling of Jongdae pressed against his bare skin is enough to drive him absolutely wild. The skater carefully extracts Baekhyun’s good arm from the mess of their limbs, then moves away to press kiss-swollen lips to his tattoo. Instantly, Baekhyun jerks. 

“Dae, please,” Baekhyun pleads. Jongdae finally acquiesces, lapping cutely over Baekhyun’s skates while his other hand reaches down to give his cock a long, firm stroke, stopping to spread the accumulated pre-come at the tip over the head to give an easier slide. “God,” Baekhyun can barely control the volume of his moans. It feels good, so fucking good. At some point, Jongdae gives in to the heavy, delightful temptation of Baekhyun’s whines and, with some difficulty, tugs his jeans low enough to expose his own hard-on. It presses warm and heavy against Baekhyun’s slick one, and both of them sigh in unison at the feeling. Jongdae wraps his hand around both of their cocks and pulls upward, gathering Baekhyun’s lips into another kiss so he can muffle the elder’s uncontainable whimpers. 

“Feels good,” Jongdae sighs, their breaths mixing hotly together. Baekhyun’s hips move subtly, seeking out more friction and control as Jongdae masturbates both of them at the same time. 

“Dae, I’m gonna come,” Baekhyun begs when Jongdae rubs his fingers over Baekhyun’s tattoo. In response, Jongdae frots gently, pushing his cock against his own hand and Baekhyun’s dick. “Please, Jongdae,” Baekhyun’s core squeezes tight as the pleasure builds to uncontrollable levels. “Let me come, come with me, please…” The younger’s pants are hot on Baekhyun’s cheek as he moves sloppily. 

“I’m close, too,” he whispers against soft skin. Baekhyun’s whimpers and pleading do devastating things for him. Every time he utters Jongdae’s name, his cock twitches. Every time he begs, Jongdae wants to selfishly hold back, just so he can hear that pretty voice some more. But he can barely control himself anymore as well, and so he focuses on the sensitive tip of their cocks, rubbing past Baekhyun’s weeping slit and down to his frenulum. Baekhyun gasps shakily and comes, trembling uncontrollably under Jongdae as his climax explodes out of him. High-pitched keens fall from his lips as his cock pulses white liquid over Jongdae’s erection, which the skater uses to milk Baekhyun’s orgasm and bring himself to completion as well. 

“Oh, fuck,” Baekhyun moans lowly as he comes down from his high, Jongdae breathing heavy against his neck, head nestled on Baekhyun’s shoulder. He slowly releases the elder’s wrist, and Baekhyun’s hand comes up to cradle Jongdae’s back. They should clean up, Jongdae thinks. They’re crowded in a miniscule hospital bed where anyone could walk in at any second and see the two of them cozied up in a post-coital cuddle. Their dicks are still covered in drying cum, and if they don’t move soon, they’ll be stuck together in the worst way possible. But Baekhyun drops his head to press a kiss to Jongdae’s sweaty hairline, and Jongdae holds on to the tips of Baekhyun’s fingers, peeking out of his cast. Appreciating each other. Basking in their presence. Embracing the feeling of finally having the other in their arms; no explanations needed. 

“I thought you already had a soulmate,” Jongdae breathes. 

“I do now,” Baekhyun whispers back. And Jongdae’s heart swells with infinite happiness. 


	10. Chapter 10

“Is my hair messy?” Baekhyun asks Jongdae worriedly, patting his hairstyle gently. Jongdae brushes a stray strand back and shakes his head in negation. 

“You look handsome,” he tells Baekhyun shyly. “My parents will love you.” 

“I hope so,” Baekhyun murmurs as the subway slows to a stop and Jongdae gently pulls his soulmate to step onto the platform.  _ Soulmate.  _ It still feels like a dream, especially after all these years of fruitless searching. In his heart, Jongdae was completely prepared to spend another holiday season alone, pining for the mystery person who he had bumped into at the park. Instead, his hand is being held by Baekhyun’s, and his other arm cradles a bouquet of flowers for his parents, who had insisted he and Baekhyun come around for dinner. A dream come true, in every way possible. “Gahhh,” Baekhyun’s breath is white in the cold air. “I’m nervous.” In response, Jongdae’s thumb creeps up his sleeve and presses against the skates. 

“Don’t be,” he murmurs while Baekhyun relaxes. Together, they walk up the front steps, and Jongdae releases Baekhyun’s hand to ring the doorbell. A few moments later, Jongdae’s parents open the front door to peer at their son with a warm smile. Then their gaze falls upon Baekhyun, one arm bound in a medical sling, dressed smartly in a long winter coat and dark jeans.

Despite proffering their son complete support and trust in his search for his admittedly interesting soulmate, Jongdae’s parents had always harbored some silent worries as to who could possibly be represented by a broken bone tattoo. For the most part, the best case scenario would have been a doctor; someone with a nice, stable job and good salary who would make a hardworking, smart pair for Jongdae. Other ideas were a little more far-fetched, but they were still concerning. After all, soulmate ink represents the purest, most honest version of someone; so although they were sure that their son would find a way to love anyone bonded to him, of course his parents only wanted the best for Jongdae. Both of them peer curiously at Baekhyun and his broken arm. The handsome young man smiles brightly, cheeks puffing out, eyes crinkling up as his face lights up. 

“Hi! I’m Baekhyun. Nice to meet you!” And that’s it. They’re sold. Jongdae’s mother ushers them in and out of the cold, giving a big hug to her son while Baekhyun shakes Mr. Kim’s hand genially. He seems to glow in the presence of Jongdae’s family, bouncy and eager to help with meal preparations, even with a broken right arm. Jongdae’s mother bombards the two of them with questions that Jongdae pouts at, but Baekhyun giggles through, carefully avoiding the part where they fucked in a hospital bed seconds after soulmate confirmation. He stares at Jongdae with shining eyes, as if their son holds all the stars in the night sky in the center of his palm, and follows him around like an eager puppy, constantly looking for ways and words to make Jongdae break out into laughter. Jongdae knows his mother well enough to know that she’s being swept off her feet by Baekhyun’s charm and energy, and his father gives him an approving nod. At the dinner table, Baekhyun only has eyes for Jongdae as the younger leans closer to him to help cut his steak into small pieces that he clumsily stabs at with the fork in his left hand. 

“Here,” Jongdae prompts, pink rising in his cheeks as he shyly feeds Baekhyun. His parents look more amused than anything, but Jongdae blushes anyway. Being with Baekhyun, taking care of him, spending time together… all of it makes him happier than anything, but he’s still shy. After all, they’ve only just found each other. His soulmate hums happily as he chews, and gives an approving thumbs up to Jongdae’s father. 

“Your cooking is amazing, Mr. Kim.” His easy going personality puts everyone at ease, despite the initial awkwardness. Afterwards, he laughs and coos at all of Jongdae’s baby skating videos, much to the skater’s embarrassment, and happily lets his soulmate bury his face in the folds of his turtleneck sweater. 

“You’re still way better than I’ll ever be,” he assures Jongdae. 

“I know,” the skater grumbles. “You’re about as good as when I first stepped onto the ice.” 

“Jongdae,” his mother scolds teasingly, “be nice to dear Baekhyunnie.” She’s head over heels for her son’s soulmate. 

“He’s nice to me.” Baekhyun beams at Jongdae when he peeks out of the elder’s sweater. “He’s the best.” Jongdae flushes happily. 

“Listen.” Baekhyun pulls Jongdae onto his lap a few days later in the middle of a cuddle session. Jongdae whines and tries to climb off so he doesn’t hurt Baekhyun, but the elder wraps his good arm around Jongdae’s waist and holds on tight. “I have a lot of catching up to do.” 

“What do you mean?” Jongdae busies himself with smoothing out the collar of Baekhyun’s shirt. He is so ridiculously handsome. 

“I mean,” Baekhyun beams up at Jongdae, “I looked for you for 8 years, and we’ve been apart for 26. I have so much to learn.” 

“We have a whole lifetime together,” Jongdae murmurs, and warmth blossoms in his veins as he realizes this. Baekhyun is the person who he will spend the rest of his life with, and even though they just moved into their cozy apartment three days ago, he’s sure that he’ll never tire of him. Baekhyun’s quirks, his imperfections, likes and dislikes--Jongdae will get to learn all of it, and then he’ll fall even harder for his other half. He leans down to press a kiss to Baekhyun’s lips. 

“But I wanna know you now,” Baekhyun mumbles mischievously. “We’ve waited enough, don’t you think?” Jongdae only hums and pinches Baekhyun’s cheek happily. “Let’s speed date.” 

“What?” Jongdae giggles at the glint in Baekhyun’s eye. 

“Answer my questions, okay? But you gotta be fast.”

“What happens if I’m slow?” Jongdae teases. Baekhyun’s fingers dig into his sides, and Jongdae shrieks with laughter, wriggling to get away. “Okay, okay.” 

“Cats or dogs?” 

“Cats,” Jongdae answers. Baekhyun pouts, but lets it slide. “They’re cute!” 

“No, you. Favorite type of music.” 

“R&B.” 

“Best boy,” Baekhyun praises. “W--” 

“You’re spending more time complimenting me than asking questions!” 

“What’s a bad habit of yours?” 

“I’m forgetful.” Jongdae frowns. 

“Flowers or chocolate?” 

“Flowers.” 

“What kind?” Jongdae hesitates for a fraction of a second too long. 

“I don’t know!” Jongdae squirms and giggles as Baekhyun tickles him. “Any. I like flowers.” 

“What’s your favorite food?” 

“Chicken.” 

“Least favorite?” 

“Broccoli.” Jongdae pulls a face. “Wait, what’s yours?” 

“Cucumber.” 

“Valid; keep going.” 

“Have you ever kissed anyone before?” 

Jongdae hesitates, then nods. “When I was six.” 

“SIX--!” Baekhyun bursts into laughter. 

“I was a curious kid!” Jongdae complains. 

“Who was it?” Baekhyun wants to know eagerly. 

“Minseok,” Jongdae mutters. They don’t bring it up often. 

“Your friend with penguin man?” Baekhyun nods sagely. “That’s impressive. Ahead of the game, I see.” 

“Have you?” Jongdae asks. 

“Yeah, a few times in university. My school days were mostly spent playing video games and daydreaming about you, though.” 

“Jacking off?” Jongdae corrects. Baekhyun scowls. 

“Don’t put it so crudely. I wanted cuddles and love, too.” 

“I’ll give you cuddles and love.” Jongdae snuggles into Baekhyun’s warm chest. “So you were a gamer boy,” he murmurs. “Good to know.” 

“Still am. I’m a god at PUBG.” Baekhyun runs his fingers through Jongdae’s hair softly. 

“Are we still speed dating?” the skater inquires. It’s extremely fun and chaotic. 

“Yes. Favorite sex position.” 

“I-- _ Baekhyun!”  _ Jongdae blushes as Baekhyun cackles shamelessly. “How am I supposed to know?” 

“So you never got naughty in high school or university?” 

“No, I wanted to wait for my soulmate.” Jongdae looks curiously at Baekhyun. “Did you?” 

“I waited for you.” Baekhyun leans in to kiss Jongdae on the lips. “Guess this means we’re gonna have to fuck some more.” 

“We fuck like, twice a day.” 

“Like I said, we need to make up for lost time. And I sure don’t mind.” Baekhyun smirks as Jongdae’s fingers crawl up his sweater. “Now?” 

“You can keep asking me questions,” Jongdae informs him as he presses kisses along Baekhyun’s sharp jawline. 

“But how are you going to answer them with a dick in your mouth?” 

_ “Baek!”  _

Bright, cheery holiday music plays through the speakers built into the penthouse apartment. Jongin twirls into Taemin’s waiting arms, then beams happily as the two sway together, following each other’s whims in an improvised dance. 

“We need to decorate the house,” Jongin singsongs as he scoops Taemin in his arms and spins him around. 

“That can wait,” Taemin trills back, landing lightly on his feet and leading Jongin further into their apartment, waltzing gracefully from room to room until they’re both breathless and giggling. Oh, the perks of being tethered to your best friend and a fellow dancer. The song changes to something stronger, a little sexy and playful.

“C’mere, diamond,” Jongin shimmies to the beat, backing away from Taemin who toe-heel walks towards his soulmate, hips swaying from side to side, eyes turned intense and sensual. Holiday music is so overrated. “Yessss, baby, look at you go,” Jongin bites his lips and smirks when Taemin trails his hands down Jongin’s chest. The younger turns Taemin around and pulls his backside flush to his hips, swiveling in time to Taemin’s hip rolls. 

“What if the food delivery arrives?” Jongin hums while Taemin presses him up against the front door and grinds on him. 

“I thought it was already here,” Taemin smirks, and tilts Jongin’s chin up playfully. “You sure look like a snack to me.” The doorbell rings. Both of them flinch in surprise. “Dammit,” Taemin whispers. 

“Cockblock.” Jongin turns around and unlocks the door. “Hi! Thank you,” he accepts their delivery, handing one of the trays to Taemin. “Happy holidays!” The two of them half-walk, half-dance the food over to their dining table. 

“We’re never going to get anything done,” Jongin laments, watching Taemin freestyle in the middle of the living room. 

“Okay, okay, I’ll go get the balloons,” Taemin moonwalks away from Jongin and blows him a kiss, causing the younger to break into high-pitched, hysterical laughter. They pop several in the process of blowing them up, each time shrieking like kindergarteners and clutching onto the other in mock fright. As if. They watch horror movies every weekend and make love on the couch while people get tortured on screen. After the balloons, they get distracted by making tinsel crowns for each other instead of hanging the garlands up. Then they wash each other’s hair, touch dicks in the shower, and finally,  _ finally,  _ finish arranging all the catered food onto pretty plates just as the doorbell rings when the first guests for the New Year’s party arrive. Because they are extra, they make out on their way to answer the door, whereupon Baekhyun beams at both of them, disregarding their shiny, swollen lips. 

“He’s not alone!” Jongin cheers, promptly giving Jongdae a big hug. “Welcome!” 

“Happy holidays,” Jongdae seems slightly taken aback, but perfectly happy to accept the warm greeting. “Wow, your place is so nice,” he murmurs in awe as Baekhyun one-handedly unwinds his scarf. 

“Thank you!” Jongin beams. “Please come in, everyone else will be here soon.” 

“Thanks for letting me invite my friends as well,” Jongdae smiles gently. “They’re excited to meet all of you.” 

“Your friends are ours, too,” Taemin reassures Jongdae. “Make yourself at home.” The doorbell rings again as more guests arrive. 

“Penguin man,” Baekhyun remarks when he spots Kyungsoo, shyly glancing around the penthouse apartment, attached to Minseok’s side like they’re glued together. 

“Yep,” Jongdae affirms. 

“So you’re the one who stole my Dae’s heart,” Minseok greets Baekhyun. 

“So you’re the one that stole my Dae’s first kiss,” Baekhyun retorts good-naturedly, and Jongdae lets out a yell of embarrassment while Kyungsoo turns to his soulmate interestedly. Minseok laughs gleefully, and the two instantly become best friends. 

“Sehunnie, where's your lover boy?” Baekhyun asks when his tall, handsome friend walks into the camaraderie alone. 

“Business trip.” He presses his lips together and looks around at everyone with keen eyes. 

“Awww,” Jongin pouts, having left Taemin to mingle with old and new friends. “That’s unfortunate. On New Year’s, too…” 

“Yes,” Sehun speaks in a low, unaffected voice. 

“Sehunnie is a sweetheart,” Jongin tells Jongdae, Minseok, and Kyungsoo. “He’s our baby.” 

“...Right.” Minseok says slowly, looking vaguely terrified of Sehun’s stoic expression and perfectly straight sitting posture. “A baby.” 

“Hello, everyone,” Junmyeon calls when he and Yixing arrive. “Nice to meet you all.” He catches sight of Baekhyun, who gives him a tentative wave, then shrinks back against the wall as Junmyeon approaches him with intense, threatening eyes. “You’re Jongdae’s soulmate?” Baekhyun stares at him.

“D-Dae said you were nice,” Baekhyun whispers. Beside him, Jongdae snorts. Junmyeon’s face melts into a warm smile. 

“Jongdae’s been waiting a long time for you. I’m glad you two finally found each other.” 

“Oh my God,” Baekhyun places a hand on his chest. “My heart’s going so fast, you have no idea.” Junmyeon and Jongdae share a laugh. Yixing doesn’t talk much, but he doesn’t have to. That dimple says it all. 

“Taemin definitely put up the tinsel, didn’t he,” comes an exaggerated sigh from the hallway. 

“What’s wrong with the tinsel?” Taemin asks. 

“Honey, it looks like Santa’s little helpers took a shit in your penthouse.” A man rounds the corner, sporting a small scar on his eyebrow and sharp eyes that gaze over everyone who has already arrived. He nudges his soulmate. “If you’d found me earlier, we could’ve gotten a nice place, too.” 

“ME?” Minho protests. “You came looking for me, not the other way around!” 

“Aish, between you two, neither of you had the sense to add an accent color into the decor?” Kibum ignores Minho and turns to Taemin and Jongin, who blink at him. 

“What’s an accent color?” Jongin asks cluelessly. 

“They’re soulmates?” Jongdae whispers to Baekhyun. 

“Yup. Minho’s our childhood friend. Kibum’s the sassy, fantastic bitch.” 

“But they… bicker so much,” Jongdae murmurs as the two toss witty remarks back and forth. Taemin sidles up to both of them and beams. 

“Aren’t they cute? I think they’re perfect for each other,” he gushes. Jongdae looks at Baekhyun with questioning eyes. Baekhyun shrugs. 

“Hey, I told you my friends were interesting.” 

“They sure are,” Jongdae agrees. 

“Baek,” Minho calls. “So you finally found him.” His eyes land on Jongdae, appraising him carefully. 

“I know, right? It’s about time.” Baekhyun wraps an arm around Jongdae. “This is Jongdae, he’s my baby.” 

“Honey, how many kingdoms did you save in your past life to snag such a cutie?” Kibum asks Baekhyun, snarky as ever. Jongdae chokes and covers his smile with the back of his hand while Baekhyun beams proudly. “I’m sorry you’re stuck with him,” Kibum says sympathetically to Jongdae. 

“Hey!” Baekhyun protests. 

“You’re the reason Jongdae’s got a broken bone for a tattoo,” Junmyeon teases lightly. “We all thought you were a doctor at first.” 

“Sorry to disappoint,” Baekhyun mutters, but Jongdae pecks him on the cheek. 

“We went to a dinosaur museum to search for you,” Minseok adds. “Jongdae thought you had been preserved.” 

“I did not,” Jongdae whines. 

“What dinosaur did you want me to be?” Baekhyun asks very seriously.

“A triceratops,” Jongdae tells him firmly. 

“Damn. I’d rather be a brontosaurus.” 

“They probably deepthroat like porn stars,” Kibum says absently. There’s a moment of silence. Then, because they are all high-functioning adults, everyone explodes into laughter that never really goes away for the rest of the night. Baekhyun tries to keep up with Minseok as they down champagne flutes and fails miserably, instead giggling and trading tipsy kisses with Jongdae. Kyungsoo notices one of Jongin’s lego sets and Jongin, delighted by Kyungsoo’s fascination, finishes the Mickey Mouse steamboat carefully with his new friend, who nods patiently at all of Jongin’s non-stop chatter. Taemin stays pressed next to Jongin’s side the entire time, listening attentively to Kibum’s interior design tips and Minho’s date ideas that Kibum lovingly rolls his eyes at. Sehun has gravitated towards Junmyeon and Yixing’s comforting presence, and is now receiving head pats from both of them. 

“Jongin!” Baekhyun slurs from the kitchen. “D’you have a bell pepper?” 

“What’s a bell pepper?” Jongin asks, not looking up from sorting lego pieces with a strangely focused Kyungsoo. “Is it the spicy one?” 

“That’s a jalapeno,” Kyungsoo tells him softly. 

“Ohhhhh. I don’t know, look in the fridge.” Jongin shrugs. 

“Sehunnie! Catch!” Baekhyun chucks a yellow bell pepper across the apartment into Sehun’s waiting hands. For some reason, the younger sighs wistfully and clutches it to his chest as he leans back onto Junmyeon’s shoulder so the elder can resume stroking his hair. 

“What’s with the bell pepper?” Minseok wants to know. In response, Sehun extends his wrist, where a cute yellow bell pepper is tattooed into his wrist. “Uh… okay?” Sehun doesn’t offer any other explanation, nor does anyone else. The festivities continue, all the way until the final countdown begins for the new year. Jongin and Taemin’s apartment offers a stunning view of the city lights and the fireworks that explode into color when the clock hits midnight. Sehun texts his soulmate, snapping a picture of the bell pepper which now has a little face drawn on it in Sharpie while everyone locks lips. Baekhyun has never been more joyful in his life as he pulls Jongdae close and, for the first time in 26 years, kisses his soulmate on New Year’s Day. They touch each other’s wrists gently, as is the tradition, and Jongdae’s eyes glimmer with tenderness when Baekhyun pulls away. 

“Let’s spend every New Year together,” Baekhyun proposes softly. “I’ll never let you be lonely ever again.” 

“I’d like that,” Jongdae whispers, touching his forehead to Baekhyun’s and intertwining their fingers. 

“Kyungsoo’s tired,” Minseok announces softly to everyone gathered in the living room, filled with good food and dozing off in the early hours of the new year.

“We should all get to bed, probably.” Junmyeon glances at the clock, which shows that it’s just past three. For some reason, Taemin and Jongin burst into hysterical giggles at this. “What?” Junmyeon looks at both of them, bemused.

“It’s nothing,” they chorus, and then continue laughing. Kibum sighs, leaning against Minho’s shoulder. “We have a couple of guest rooms.” Jongin emerges from Taemin’s sweater and suppresses any residual giggles. “And someone can sleep on the couch, it’s really comfortable. Also… well, I’ll just show you. Everyone pretty much gets a mattress.” 

“Wow, so this is what golden pairs are like,” Minseok remarks. 

“Don’t be fooled,” Baekhyun tells him. “Neither of them know how to work a toaster.”

“I was going to give you the guest room, Baek, but now that you’ve said that…” Jongin warns. 

“Sorry! I’m sorry. You guys are the classiest people I know.” Baekhyun grows benevolent. 

“Here you go. Baek’s stayed over before, so I’ll just leave you two be. Have fun!” Jongin giggles, then shuts the door behind them. Jongdae faceplants into the soft sheets with a groan. 

“They might not know how to work a toaster, but they can sure party…” he sighs. From outside, there’s some noise as everyone gets ready to tuck in for the night, but neither of them care as they brush their teeth and change into comfortable pajamas. 

“Dae,” Baekhyun approaches Jongdae from behind. “D’you have fun?” 

“Of course.” Jongdae turns around and gives him a small, tired smile. “I’m so happy,” he murmurs, wrapping his arms around Baekhyun’s neck and leaning in for kisses. “I finally have you in my life.” Baekhyun’s breath tastes like his mint toothpaste, and he smells like the cologne he put on earlier, something mature and musky. His good hand creeps under Jongdae’s nightshirt as their lips move together, and gently cups the side of the skater’s waist. After the celebrations, Jongdae wants nothing more than to have his soulmate all to himself. Unfortunately, they’re in Taemin and Jongin’s big, fancy apartment, and they have to be good guests. Still, that doesn’t stop them from climbing into bed together and trading long, languid kisses. Baekhyun’s tongue sweeps wet and warm in Jongdae’s mouth, and the younger sucks at Baekhyun’s bottom lip to get him to sigh. 

“I want to fuck you,” Jongdae whispers against Baekhyun’s spit-slick lips. 

“I want you to fuck me,” Baekhyun agrees instantly. Yes, they had sex before the party, and they’ve consumated their relationship in every square inch of their new apartment already, but Baekhyun still wants to be fucked on New Year’s. “I didn’t bring lube or condoms,” Baekhyun fakes a sad sniffle.

“Me neither,” Jongdae laments. 

“I was going to be a good boy.” 

“Well, you might have fooled everyone else,” Jongdae giggles as he moves to kiss down Baekhyun’s neck. “But I know how naughty you can be.” 

“What did I do?” Baekhyun feigns innocence as Jongdae’s fingers unbutton the top of Baekhyun’s nightshirt, then move to his own shirt. One from Baekhyun, one from himself. Jongdae straddles Baekhyun and sits back to slide his pajama top off, then helps Baekhyun out of his before resuming his neck kisses. He can feel Baekhyun growing hard under him already. 

“You like getting fucked against the front door,” Jongdae murmurs. Baekhyun’s breath hitches as his soulmate’s voice loses its gentle tone and turns low with arousal. “You’re so impatient, Baek.” 

“You couldn’t wait either,” Baekhyun sighs as Jongdae grinds against his erection. 

“You were  _ begging  _ for me to take you the second we got home.” Jongdae’s teeth sink into the soft flesh of Baekhyun’s neck and he suckles, causing him to let out a gasp. 

“Because you’re a--a tease.” Baekhyun’s breath hitches. 

“And I couldn’t even finish doing the dishes because you needed my cock in your mouth.” Jongdae’s hips roll against Baekhyun’s, creating more heat and friction. 

“I--” Baekhyun whimpers, puppy eyes large and pleading. “Wanted to return the favor from that morning.” Jongdae moves further down his body and sucks a dusky pink nipple into his mouth, teasing the bud until it’s stiff and sensitive. Baekhyun trembles every time Jongdae licks warm and grainy over it with his tongue, shakily sliding his hand into his soulmate’s soft brown hair and wishing, for the millionth time, that his arm was healed already so he could surge up and touch Jongdae, too. His head lolls to the side as Jongdae plays with his nipples, and that’s when he catches sight of something on the nightstand. 

“Jongdae,” Baekhyun says, but it comes out more as a sigh. “Jongdae, wait--” His soulmate looks up instantly, searching the elder’s face for any sort of discomfort, but finding none. “Bless them,” Baekhyun chuckles, gesturing towards the lube and condoms on the small table next to the lamp. Jongdae looks like he’s just received a late Christmas present. He glances down at Baekhyun, who tilts his head cheekily to the side and smirks at him with lazy, hooded eyes. 

“You gonna bone me?” 

“I see Dae is getting the good good,” Minseok comments dryly to Kyungsoo in the other guest room. 

“He’s on top,” Kyungsoo murmurs sleepily, having been woken up by Baekhyun’s incessant moaning that filters through the walls. He would be grumpy, except Minseok is already on damage control, softly stroking his tattoo and cuddling extra close to him.

“Please don’t add fire to the fuel, Soo, I don’t need the image in my head.” 

“Good stroke game,” Kyungsoo whispers, feeling drowsy again from Minseok’s body heat and the ripples of calm that radiate through his system. 

“I’ll show you good stroke game,” Minseok grumbles. Kyungsoo lets out a cute little snore.

In the living room, Sehun sleeps soundly, unable to hear anything while the other two couples amuse themselves with the situation. 

“Begging kink,” Kibum guesses as a litany of ‘please, Dae, please’ cuts through the silent house along with the heavy sound of skin slapping against skin. 

“Top Jongdae,” Junmyeon sounds somewhat impressed. “Wow, I’m proud of him.” 

“Teasing,” Yixing adds quietly, spooning Junmyeon from behind and pressing kisses between his shoulder blades. 

“Dirty talk,” Minho says.

“Baek sounds like he’s going to come.” Kibum’s shoulders shake with silent laughter, pressing his face into Minho’s chest so they don’t wake Sehun up. 

“Hasn’t it only been five minutes?” Minho whispers. 

“That’s what happens when you’re 26 and you just discovered sex,” Junmyeon chuckles quietly. “I hope they’re having fun.” 

“Fuck!” Baekhyun moans from the guest room, and Kibum very nearly laughs out loud.

Jongin sighs softly as Taemin covers his face with loving kisses, running his hands across every inch of tan skin that he can reach as he thrusts slowly, languidly in and out of Jongin, who wraps his arms around Taemin’s willowy figure and pulls him closer to his own body. 

“I love you,” Jongin whispers, feeling Taemin’s breath hot and soft on his cheek. His hips undulate smoothly, holding Jongin open, filling him up until Jongin can’t think of anything but Taemin, making love to him with tender, graceful movements. They seem to move as one person, Jongin’s hips bucking up to meet Taemin sliding in and out of him so that his cock presses deep into the younger. Jongin moans quietly in Taemin’s ear and presses sloppy, gentle kisses to his cheeks. 

“My teddy bear, so beautiful.” Taemin’s smooth, flat tummy ripples as he moves. Goosebumps pop into existence all over his skin when Jongin lays his palms against Taemin, cherishing this gorgeous man who he loves more than anything in the world. “You’re mine,” Taemin whispers against Jongin’s cheek, and Jongin wants nothing else than to be his. 

“Of course,” he turns his head to capture Taemin’s lips. Alas, the moment would be perfect, but their quiet love-making is interrupted by Baekhyun’s low moans and Jongdae’s breathless groans, audible even though they’re multiple rooms apart. The spell breaks. Taemin collapses into a fit of giggles on Jongin’s chest. 

“Ah, young soulmates,” he muses while Jongin’s chest shakes underneath him with laughter. 

“I see they found the goodies.” Jongin pulls Taemin up to kiss him some more, but their teeth clack together too much and their amusement is punctuated with breathy moans when Taemin continues to roll his hips up into Jongin. 

“I liked making you scream,” Taemin whispers hotly in Jongin’s ear. 

“That you did.” Jongin blushes. “Remember that one time you fucked me against the windows?” Taemin groans above him, and his dick twitches in Jongin’s ass. 

“That was hot.” 

“We can do it again sometime,” Jongin sighs, perhaps a little dreamily. “For now…” Another one of Baekhyun’s long, keening moans cuts through their conversation. “Just make love to me, Taemi-diamond,” Jongin requests after another round of their giggles subside. Taemin reaches for Jongin’s wrist and kisses the diamond there softly. 

“I love you, my teddy bear.” 

Baekhyun feels like he’s died and gone to heaven. He’s lying on his stomach, head turned to the side as a small puddle of drool forms on the pillow, mouth hanging slack from how good Jongdae is fucking into him. Every thrust is so bone-achingly deep that he swears he can feel Jongdae in his lower stomach. Jongdae’s hips snap into him fast and hard, creating sweet friction on his clenching rim that makes Baekhyun’s eyes roll into the back of his head. The younger has draped himself over Baekhyun’s back like a cloak, and their left hands rest together, fingers in contact with inked skin so pleasure washes over both of them at once. 

“You’re moaning loud enough for everyone to hear you,” Jongdae whispers into his ear, and Baekhyun just whines even louder. He feels like he could cry. Jongdae fucks him so good, jostling him with every thrust so that his hard, leaking cock rubs against the sheets. 

“Oh, fuck,” Baekhyun sobs as Jongdae finds his prostate. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” 

“Right there?” Jongdae’s breathing comes heavy and ragged, but he doesn’t lose his rhythm, just keeps fucking Baekhyun into the mattress. 

“Ye-es,” Baekhyun keens when he hits the spot again. 

“Yes, what?” It’s incredible how much Baekhyun likes being reduced to a pleading, trembling mess by Jongdae. He looks so pretty under the skater, fucked out of his mind, tears forming at the corners of his eyes while Jongdae’s hips snap up into him. 

“Yes, please, Dae, fuck me hard,” Baekhyun begs. He’s going to go crazy. He lifts his hips up away from the sheets, bucking back into Jongdae’s thrusts. “Make me come.” 

“Are you close, baby?” Jongdae feels hot all over as Baekhyun clenches around his cock. A long groan slips past his lips, mixing with the scent of sex and the sound of Baekhyun’s sweet moans in the air. Baekhyun whimpers and nods, feeling the hot coil of pleasure pulse and pull tight in his gut. “God, you sound so good,” Jongdae groans, switching to the short, deep thrusts that Baekhyun likes so much. “Come for me, Baek. Let them hear you, hear how good I fuck you.” 

“Ah, ah, ah,” Baekhyun replies very coherently, but at least he delivers. His sensitive cock brushes against the sheets while Jongdae nails his prostate, and then he comes, letting out a series of juddering moans that seem to last forever as fireworks explode in front of his closed eyelids. Jongdae hisses when Baekhyun clenches tight around him, his own orgasm teetering right there, dangerously close, causing his thrusts to become sloppy. 

“Fuck, Jongdae,” Baekhyun gasps into the sheets when his soul finally returns to his body, “come on, sweetheart,  _ please--”  _ He’s trembling from oversensitivity as Jongdae slams into him, balls-deep, and spills into the condom with a low grunt. Baekhyun shudders when Jongdae’s cock pulses in him, then the younger becomes dead weight on top of him. They lay together like that, piled on top of each other, ignoring the ruined sheets and Jongdae’s softening cock buried inside Baekhyun’s hole. Sparks of pleasure and peace ripple through both of them, left hands still clasped against each other’s wrists. Sleep makes Baekhyun’s eyelids heavy, and Jongdae’s warmth is ever so comforting. Eventually, though, they slowly clean up, then Baekhyun pulls Jongdae into his arms on the big bed, away from the wet spots of come that are a problem for tomorrow morning. Jongdae’s breathing is already evening out when he cuddles into Baekhyun’s warmth, mindful of the broken arm. 

“Do you think Taemin and Jongin regret leaving us the presents?” he murmurs sleepily. Baekhyun chuckles softly and presses a kiss to Jongdae’s forehead.

“Probably. But it’s okay.” Baekhyun’s eyelids flutter shut as sleep pulls him under.

“For you, I’d do all sorts of crazy things.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again ;) Thank you so much for reading this fic! I hope you enjoyed sweet BaekChen who have finally found each other <3 and the copious amounts of TaeKai as well ^_^  
> I love feedback and dicussion, so please feel free to leave a comment if you enjoyed the story! :)  
> This was written for one of the mods of EXO On Ice~ I hope it met your every expectation XD I had lots of fun writing it! Thank you for your hard work in hosting this fest <3  
> Happy holidays to everyone and I hope you have a very healthy, prosperous new year! ^_^ Looking forward to meeting you all at author reveals~~


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